Eclipse (An Arkos and Renora Story)
by Marvel fiction
Summary: (DISCONTINUED VERSION, BEING REWRITTEN ON COSMIC FICTION!) A.U. After Cinder's failed attack on Beacon, the school reopens it's doors to emotionally wounded and hurt Huntsmen in training. Jaune and Pyrrha wrestle with the troubles of trying to carry on where they left off, and the new feelings that awoke in them at that almost last kiss.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Long time no see! So, I'm starting a new story. A RWBY one! I did what I always do, guys! I fell for the romance that gets ruined by shitty deaths! Yay! And my favorite character is the one who gets the boot! Yay! It's Peter and Gwen all over again! YAY!**

 **My sarcasm is strong here...so very strong.**

 **Anyway, this story is technically an A.U. Takes place two months after the Volume 3 finale, here's the important changes that affect this story:**

 **\- Pyrrha lives - obviously.**

 **\- Cinder's attack fails.**

 **\- The Grimm Dragon is never woken.**

 **\- Beacon stays operational.**

 **\- Ozpin survives.**

 **\- Blake doesn't run away to Menagerie.**

 **It's Arkos and Renora primarily, but I am open to other pairings if there are popular enough opinions in the reviews or private messages. So! Onward! Talk more after the first chapter my ducks! -Dave**

* * *

 **...**

 **Prologue:**

"Mom? Mooooooom!" A little girl called from her bedroom, clutching the covers in dainty hands over her nose, bright and wide emerald eyes staring in fear at the dancing skeletal shadows on her wall. "Mommy!"

The door opened slightly, an expanding column of artificial light mixing and cock-tailing with lunar glows on the floorboards. Stood in the doorway, generous hair thrown over her shoulder in a thick woven mess of blood red. The late thirties woman rubbed her eyes and grumbled, stepping into her petrified daughter's room. Her curvaceous Mistral figure wrapped in a silky violet dressing gown. She tied the belt around her thin waist and sighed heavily.

"What is it, my sweet?" She whispered softly, sitting on the edge of the little girl's bed, pinching the tented patch of quilt her dinky toes made. The little girl, with a messy tuft of rich red hair looked up with sparkling green eyes, pointing a shaky finger over the protective blanket at the window.

"M-Monster!"

"Oh, honey..." Her Mom sighed. She bit her lip and shuffled closer to her daughter, looping a warm arm around her shoulders, resting her mature face in her four year old's hair. "Pyrrha, it's not a monster, baby. Look." She pointed out the window at the swaying tree, the cause of the jagged arm on her wall. Little Pyrrha's eyes followed her Mother's finger, then frowned, looking up at her ever wise mother.

"No Mommy. Not the twee." She threw the covers off and the little girl crawled over the mattress in her bronze colored onesie, crouched on the edge of the bed to point her dainty finger out at the shattered Moon nestled in the black abyss above. "The moon. It's scawy!"

"Oh bubba." Her mother coddled her daughter, picking her up and sitting her on her thighs, hugging the infant. Pyrrha nuzzled her face into the warmth of her mother's chest, clutching the silky fluffy gown. "The Moon is nothing to be afraid of. It is a vigil over us while we sleep. It protects us."

"From tha Gwimm?" Pyrrha looked up with bountiful full eyes. Her Mother beamed, pecking a soft kiss onto her daughter's head, stroking her red hair.

"Yes. From the Grimm. Never fear the Moon, _Amica Mea_."

"B-B-B-But it-it's big and bwight...it's bwoked too. Mommy, why is tha Moon Bwoked?"

"Broken, honey." Her Mother chuckled lightly. "It's Broken."

"oooh. Bw...Bwoken?" Pyrrha looked at her Mom for confirmation. The smile spoke volumes.

"Exactly." Another kiss to her hair. She sobered and sighed, looking at the moon over her baby girl. "But...nobody's really sure why the Moon's broken. Only that we should be happy it is." She bit her lip, rubbing gentle circles into the tiny Nikos girl sucking her thumb in her lap.

"Why Momma? It's bad b-bec-it's bwoken." Pyrrha mumbled over her thumb. Her warming Mother gave her a gentle squeeze, looking up at the ceiling to watch the rotating nightlight project warming orange and pink stars onto the ceiling, and a simplistic crescent moon with specks of broken fragments orbiting it. She worried her lip and her greener eyes flit down to her babe.

"Two yellow Crescents will one day make the moon whole." She breathed a whisper, before forcing a smile onto her face. "Don't worry, my sweet. That's a story for when you're older. For now though, get some sleep." She laid her little bundle down on the bed and tucked her in, handing the infant her plushie bear and planting a soft kiss on her brow. "Sweet dreams my darling Pyrrha."

"Night Mommy." Pyrrha whispered back, closing her eyes as her Mother walked over to her window, looking out of it as she hugged her upper arms. She looked at the Moon and bit her lip with worry, before shaking her head and drawing the blackout curtains, blocking out the lunar light. She sighed heavily and looked at her daughter softly as sleep began to claim the little girl, gently sucking her thumb.

"You'll do wonderful things when your older, my darling Pyrrha. Never fear the broken Moon my dear..." She walked out of the room with a gentle smile as she pulled the door shut with a gentle click. "...fear the Moon being whole."

...

* * *

 **ECLIPSE**

 **Act One: Chapter One:**

 **TWO CRESCENTS AND A SPEAR**

 **...**

The first day back at Beacon after the Vytal tournament attack was a sorrowful and almost preternatural experience. Students offloaded on ships at the docks, heads downcast and low murmurs rumbling over the cold tarmac. Smiles were distant and painted on with fake emotions at first, but as soon as old friends reunited, those plastic smiles became flesh and blood.

Scars of combat strafed along the silver skin of the school, swept up piles of debris cut into swaths to allow students to mingle and reintegrate themselves into school life. Towering over the school, the CCT tower was a cracked and worn carcass, the once bright green orbs within now dark and dead. An exoskeleton of crisscrossing scaffold poles ran up the length of the building, a straightened spine of cobwebbed steel hugging the structure. Icy blue skies envelope the very air overhead of the wounded school.

With Cinder defeated and her wounded retreat marking a victory for Beacon and it's students, now the clean up operation begins. The quiet air is broken by sparking welders and buzzing chainsaws, high up the length of the CCT tower.

He blew out a breath of chilling cool air, his lungs drying out on the inhale. Ruffling his thatch of straw on his head, Jaune Arc hefted the strap of his duffel bag onto his shoulder, taking a few steps away from the busy docks of returning students. He took a moment to look around and take in the returning students. Many he recognized, if not all. He saw Velvet meeting Coco, hugging and laughing at their embrace. He caught a glimpse of Cardin thumping fists with the rest of his returning team.

Then he was engulfed in a crushing hug and a face full or bright orange hair. He staggered and tried to breathe in, as the Valkyrie's arms tightened. "N-Nora...c-can't...breathe."

"Oopsie...sorry!" Nora let go, bouncing on her toes before him, a bright smile. "Soooo good to see you again, leader!"

"Yeah...you too, buddy." Jaune beamed, looking around the bright and joyful woman to see the green draped boy pacing over, his own bag hefted over his shoulder. "Ren! Hey bud!"

"Hello again. Been a long two months." He hugged his leader, patting his spine. The JN and R of JNPR was reunited. Ren stepped back, tucking a lock of magenta back into his black mane. "How've you been?"

"Okay, mainly. Ah, you know how it is. Fight. Save the school. Get sent home. Come back once it's tidied up...at least a bit anyway." Jaune chuckled. Ren's smile lowered. "But yeah...I-I know what you mean...kinda dreading seeing her again to be honest."

"You know you have to. We all do!" Nora shrugged. She bit her lip as she studied Jaune, his downward gaze, brows furrowed in thought. "W-What she did...with that fire girl..."

"I don't wanna talk about it right now, okay Nora?" Jaune gave a weak smile. Nora went to retort but bit her tongue, nodding instead.

"Okey-dokey. Ooh! Hey, Ren, come on lets go find team RWBY!"

"Err...Nora..." Ren gently took her upper arms, Nora's turquoise eyes bearing into his magenta ones. "Yang's not here, her injury means that she's staying at home with her Dad for the time being. I think Ruby's here, so's Weiss and Blake, but be careful with them. Their emotions are high...I think all of ours are." Ren gave a meek smile. Nora gave a forced smile, gulping.

"O-Okay Ren. C'mon!" She grabbed his hand, attempting to cheer him up. She beamed at Jaune. "You coming?!"

"I'm err...I'm just gonna go to the dorm. Put my stuff back, boring stuff. You guys go on ahead though!" Jaune waved them off. Nora nodded and dragged Ren with her. When they disappeared into the crowds, Jaune let his smile drop and he groaned, rubbing his temple. He sighed and hefted his bag, before firming his upper lip, straightening his back and taking off towards the school.

He never noticed the red head step off of the shuttle, with a thump of rubber soles. Her emerald eyes flit around nervously at the other students. As each one saw her, they gasped and some even pointed, as she felt all eyes fall on her. Her cheeks dusted red and she tugged at her free flowing red hair, tugging and flipping it over one shoulder to shield her face from everyone's eyes.

She padded across the docks, hugging her graphite grey hoodie clad arms, attempting to make herself smaller, if possible. Her circlet devoid of her usually tied back hair, her eyes red and raw, the Nikos girl was a shell of her former self, back to square one she felt. Her friends hated her, that much she knew. She'd shoved the boy she loved away and ran off essentially to die, only to live and have to face the consequences. Now she was alienated again, placed back on that now taller pedestal, but not through fame, but as the girl who went to fight a losing fight...possibly with the intention to meet her destiny.

Now though, her view of destiny had warped and changed from it's previous. Her fight with Cinder was what she assumed to be her destiny, a heroic end with the defeat of a foe. Instead, she was beaten, only surviving when Ruby arrived just in time, to ignite her silver eyes with a blast that unwrapped the very night sky with brilliant white. Now she didn't know what her destiny was, and to be honest she didn't care. She'd lost her best friend, and loved one, just as the apex of their relationship had peaked to a whole new level she'd always wanted, all because she wanted to be heroic. She didn't realize at the time, but by shoving him away after sealing a kiss, she'd made him feel worthless, made him unlock whole new levels of feelings for her, only to snatch them away and make him truly feel absolutely helpless and useless.

Pyrrha's eyes began to sting again and she quickened her pace out of everyone's view, pacing her sweats clad body into the school grounds.

...

Jaune set his bag down by his bed. He blew out a breath and smiled as that feeling of home washed over his body. He sat on the lip of his bed, peeling the zipper back on his bag tooth by tooth, until he could pull out his sheathed sword, laying Crocea Mors back on his bed. He pulled out his Pumpkin Pete's T shirt and set it folded up on his pillow, followed by pajamas - a more suitable pair of vest top and baggy shorts - and other assortments of clothes and toiletries.

He stepped into the Dorm's bathroom and set his toothbrush and deodorant can on the sink, before walking out, stifling a tired yawn into his cupped palm. That's when the door to the Dorm opened with a click, swinging inwards towards Jaune.

"Hey Nora, Ren, did you find Ruby? Is she o...kay..." Jaune trailed off as his eyes met emerald pearls, outlined with strained washes of red. His ocean blue beads locked onto her, as she worried her lip with her teeth, almost drawing blood from the chapped skin.

She looked so different. Her hair was straight and flat, draped over her shoulders. Her face was pale and tired, lacking makeup at all. Her circlet was devoid, her fringe almost over her eyes.

Her curves were hidden in baggy dark grey sweats, and a shoulder bag slung over her left side. She blinked and neither knew what to say. Until her voice broke the silence, still only just above a whisper.

"H-Hello again." She croaked. Jaune sucked on his lip and nodded, slapping a hand to his thigh before burying it in his locks.

"Hi." he managed, shuffling his feet. "How umm...how've you been?"

"Okay." Pyrrha nodded to herself. "I went home for a while. Saw my parents. Ironwood took me to Atlas and they removed the small amount of Maiden power I had...stored there under lock and key." She scoffed, lifting her head to the ceiling. "Funny. After all that, I was just some glorified bag used to move something."

"W-What do you mean, moved?" Jaune swallowed. Pyrrha sniffled and bit her wobbling lip.

"There's a girl. She had an accident. Fell into a coma. They're storing the power in her. Can you believe that?" She wiped her eyes. "Y-You think you know someone, huh?"

"Uh huh." Jaune nodded at the feeling all too well, stepping over to his bed, busying himself. "You think you know someone." He murmured to himself. The awkward silence returned, heavily. Pyrrha set her own bag down with a thump by her bed, steeling her nerves. She flit her eyes up at him.

"So, umm..."

"Pyrrha, listen, I umm..." Jaune sighed heavily and stood up straight turning to face her. "I'm gonna be honest with you...I dunno how to continue where we left off. I don't even know if it's possible." Jaune's voice cracked. Pyrrha nodded to her feet, hugging her upper arms.

"O-Of course. I understand." she whimpered. She looked so frail and small. It made Jaune's heart squeeze and crumble, like wet sand in a tight fist.

"I-I mean...I started to...what I'm trying to say is..." Jaune huffed and rubbed his brow. "I started to feel things for you. It started at the dance. We got closer and closer. Finally we...we kissed..."

"We did." She let a small smile curve her lips.

"But then...when it mattered, you pushed me away, into that locker. It hurt me so, so much and..." He sniffed and thumbed his eye. "...I...right now, I...I can't deal with that right now." Jaune looked up at her pleading eyes.

"I-I understand." She whispered, afraid if her voice were louder she'd cry.

"So umm...I think it'd be best if we just stay...friends." He said and Pyrrha shut her eyes, a single tear sliding through the interlocking fingers of her eyelashes.

"Okay." She said, but it came out as more of "O-ay" as her quiet voice cracked. She blew out a breath and stared at her feet. "C-Can we still...spar? O-On the roof?"

"I...I don't think that's a good idea right now. I'm struggling...just being in the same room, feelings wise." Jaune gently delivered the blow. Pyrrha nodded to herself and hugged her arms a little tighter. She felt so alone.

"O-Of course...another time." she croaked. "F-For everything...I'm so, so..." She quivered and whined, thumping a sleeve swallowed fist into her thigh as she eyed the ceiling, blowing out a breath. Jaune looked at her with eyes full of sorrow. She lowered her watery gaze to him.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away." she breathed.

"I know." Jaune said as he sheathed his sword on his belt, rolling his shoulders. He looked at the shadow of Pyrrha's former self. With a soft sigh he walked over, gulping his nerves. She didn't smell of her usual wonderful infusion of lilac and what he thought was cinnamon. She smelt of...nothing. No perfume. Just an emptiness, one he was causing.

"Pyrrha." He stepped over to her, tips of his boots brushing her plimsolls. She looked at the love of her life that she couldn't have with red raw eyes. "Welcome back, I guess." He murmured. "Even though I don't know what to do, with...this..." He pressed a hand to his rapid heartbeat, swallowing dryly with an audible click. He smiled lopsidedly, giving her upper arms a squeeze. "...I've...missed you a lot."

"C-Can...I know I'm overstepping a new boundary...but..." She lifted her trembling lip. "C-Can I have a hug. Please?" she begged for human contact, and Jaune caught on to her sheer loneliness. He worried his lip and nodded, wrapping his arms stiffly around her back. It was awkward, nothing like their hugs before the Vytal tournament attack. He was rigid, she was curled in on herself.

He pat his fingers against her back and let go, clearing his throat. "I-I gotta go. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Y-Yes...of course." she whimpered. He opened the door and she lifted her head. "Jaune?"

"Mmm?" he looked at her, almost through her as he was struggling with the twangs in his heart.

"I'm so sorry." she hoarsely whispered.

"It's okay, Pyrrha...just...g-give me some time, okay?" he smiled meekly.

"O-Okay." She whispered, sitting on her bed, sniffing and wiping her eyes. He stepped back and clapped his hands together in front of himself, before thumbing to the door over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna go meet up with Ruby. Nora and Ren should be here soon." Jaune cleared his throat. Pyrrha looked up and licked the salty tears off of her lips. He left the awkward air and shut the door with a click, sighing heavily in the hall, pressing his back to the door, the back of his head thumping against the wood. He placed his hands over his face and groaned into the hardened skin.

What he didn't know was that on the other side of the door, Pyrrha had gotten up and was doing the same, leaning her back against the door, resting her head back. She groaned and ran her fingers down the curves of her cheeks, until she cupped them over her mouth, closing her eyes to choke back a sob.

Jaune huffed and gulped over the lump in his throat, rolling his head and turning his body, till his forehead pressed into the hardened wood. Pyrrha unknowingly mirrored his action, pressing her forehead into the door, an ugly sob wracking her body.

"I still love you. I can't stop." Jaune breathed, lifting a hand to press against the cool stained wood. Pyrrha lowered a hand from her quivering lips to press into the door.

"But I love you, Jaune." She breathed, unaware that the four inches of thick wood was all that separated their palms and foreheads. "...I can't stop."

...

Jaune lazily walked into the cafeteria, looking around at the bustling tables of reunited friends. Conversations overlapped and occasional loud laughs stabbed through the murmurs.

Overall it was nice to see people happy again. Even if he wasn't. He firmed his upper lip and strode over to their table. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that everyone had their own tables. Had their own areas, and everyone also seemed to respect that. He looked up from his stupor over love issues and slapped on a smile at the sight of Ruby, Weiss and Blake sat prodding their food with their cutlery.

"Hey guys." Jaune smiled, sitting next to Weiss, as Blake and Ruby looked up at him opposite. He crossed his arms on the table top and leaned his chin onto his wrists. "How's Yang?"

"Upset. In pain." Ruby closed her eyes, the usually bright rose now dull and wilted. "Her injury's taken a lot out of her. D-Dad's looking after her though."

"Oh that's good. She's not alone." Jaune reached over the table, squeezing Ruby's hand softly. "She'll be okay. If it had to happen to anyone, it happened to one of the strongest people on Remnant. Yang's as tough as they come." Jaune beamed as Ruby let a small smile grace her lips.

"How's Pyrrha? Have you seen her?" Blake broke the air, sighing and pushing her plate of fish away, not hungry. Jaune's eyes lowered and his smile followed suit.

"Umm...yeah. She's okay. I've seen her, yeah." He coughed into his fist, sitting up straight. He sighed heavily and lowered his head back down to rest on his replaced arms. "Love sucks." he mumbled.

"Huh?" Weiss snapped her eyes to him. Jaune huffed.

"It's...Pyrrha." He looked at her. "We're umm...I told her we should...be friends?"

"Oh Jaune." Weiss slapped her forehead with a face palm, groaning.

"Well, I'm sorry Weiss, but she literally ran off t-

"Yes, to face a foe and fight to save us all, how very selfi-

"Let me finish!" Jaune snapped, louder than he wanted, and the cafeteria fell silent, all eyes wide on him. Weiss licked her lips and straightened her back, clearing her throat and raising her stoic chin.

"Go on."

"She kissed me, Weiss, okay? We were told to go and get help. But Pyrrha looked up at that tower and she stopped. I told her no, told her it was suicide! Th-That girl, whoever she was, she's left Ozpin in a critical condition! If she did that to him, what chance did she have? But no, she had to do it! Had to live up to that stupid...damn title of hers! Invincible girl?! Well guess what, it's a crock! It's a name, and funnily enough, you aren't invincible, Pyrrha!" He was fuming, shouting at the table, at his reflection in the shiny worktop, as if it was her.

"Jaune..." Ruby reached to grab his arm, before he started up thrashing again, Ruby quickly pulling her hand back.

"She kissed me, and it was amazing, but for some reason, in her head, she knew it'd be our first and last. Sh-She...I felt something for her in that moment I'd never felt before. At peace. At home. Loved. I had that feeling for the grand total of about three seconds, before she shoved me in a locker, and sent me off to cower!"

"Jaune..." Weiss breathed, hand over her chest. His eyes were stinging.

"I-I mean what was the point of it all, huh? All that training, all that build up, all that telling me I was becoming a better fighter, if when it truly came down to it mattering, for me to have her back through the worst of it...she just shoves me in a locker and runs off to fight alone?! You know how...gods, how worthless I felt? How weak, and worst of all...how I was going to have to live the rest of my life without her, knowing I'd missed out on so much with her." He sniffed, wiping his eyes with the heels of his palms.

The cafeteria was deathly silent. Not even a clinking of plates and cutlery could cut the choked air. Jaune turned to everyone else and snarled. "What are you all looking at huh? What? Oh look, it's that wacky Jaune Arc up to his usual tricks! Making scenes and drawing attention! How about you all just mind your own damn business!" Jaune snapped as he stood from his chair, chest heaving as everyone turned back to their plates.

"So to answer your question..." Jaune sat down and thumped his head into his wrists on the table top. "...Yeah. Pyrrha's fine. Just freakin peachy."

"Oh...well..." Weiss flit her shocked eyes to Blake's, then Ruby's. "Umm...ch-chin up?" She winced, gently patting his head.

"That's all you've got?!" Ruby hissed a whisper at the Schnee. "He's not a dog!"

"Well I'm sorry, but emotions are not my strong suit!" She crossed her arms, huffing.

"Yeah. We noticed." Blake mumbled. She licked her lips and tucked a black lock back into place. Her ribbon and bow were totally devoid of her hair, her cat ears fully uncovered. She didn't care anymore, didn't care what anyone thought.

"Jaune?" she spoke raspily.

"Mmm?" Jaune looked up over his wrists.

"I blame myself for what happened to Yang. Yeah, it was Adam who did it...but he was there because of me. And Yang? Yang was there...because of me. She tried to save me. I'm not...good with this stuff. I usually run a mile at this point, and I did consider going home to Mom and Dad, but..." Blake looked at Weiss and Ruby. "...But my friends need me. And I need them."

Ruby pat Blake's shoulder and Weiss beamed over the table at her.

"No. I-I'm not running. Not this time. Sure, I need time to clear my head, to make sense of it all, but who doesn't? The point is, Jaune...we need each other so much right now. And the last thing we should do is push one another away...especially the people we care about."

"Whoa..." Jaune looked at her with wide eyes. "Blake...I..."

"So listen to her, you dolt." Weiss elbowed him in the ribs softly. There was no venom in her tone though. Calm and tranquil. "Be there for your team. Sure, be upset with her, and sure put feelings on hold. But...as their leader? Be there for them. For her."

"I..." Jaune looked downward, guiltily. "Yeah. You're right. Urgh, I've been a jerk."

"Not on purpose." Ruby chimed up, sticking a carrot stick into her mouth with a loud crunch. "I undershtand how you feel, Jaune." She chewed her food. "It'sh okay to be upshet. But..." she gulped it down. "Weiss' right."

"Of course I am." Weiss beamed, crossing her arms, chin held high.

"You've just got to be their friend and leader right now. Ren and Nora have always been like, super strong cos they've always had each other. But Pyrrha?" Ruby huffed and shut her eyes. "She was...m-manipulated into so many things during the Vytal tournament. She...was manipulated into...a-accidentally killing..." Ruby's eyes watered and she sniffed, gulping. "P-Pen...n-ny."

"Hey, shh, it's okay, Ruby." Jaune leaned over to grab her tiny hand again, giving it a soft squeeze.

"I-I'm not hungry right now." Ruby sniffed, pushing her tray away and wiping her eyes with her black and frilly red sleeve.

"I don't think anyone is." Weiss dropped her spoon into her soup. "Especially when they serve this slop."

"Hey guys!" Nora boomed as she sat heavily next to Weiss, dropping a heaving tray of food onto the counter. Weiss startled and snapped her eyes to the tray in shock.

Ruby giggled into her hand and Blake smiled. Nora was amazing. She had this amazing ability to cheer everyone up, no matter what. To breathe life back into a broken group.

Ren sat next to Blake, opposite Nora. The Valkyrie soon caught on to his absence beside her and her eyes watered in hurt. "R-Ren!"

"I'm sat here, Nora." She trembled her lips and massive watery puppy dog eyes glimmered at him. "Nora!" he snapped, but they only seemed to get bigger.

Ren huffed and got up, walking all the way around the table to sit next to her.

"Yay!" Nora yelled, hands in the air. "Always works." She grinned at the giggling others. Ren huffed at her.

"It won't always."

"Err, yah. Yeah it will, silly!" Nora grinned at him. Ren rolled his magenta eyes but smiled, because he knew exactly what she was doing. She was cheering everyone up. Weiss and Ruby were giggling, Jaune was beaming and Blake was chuckling into her palm. "Ooh, hey Ruby! They got cookies up there! Why ain't you got any?" Nora gasped exaggeratedly into her palm. "You're not...cutting down on sugar, are you?!"

"No! No of course not! Where?!" Ruby snapped her head towards the front of the cafeteria.

"Over there. Go get em!" Nora laughed as Ruby shot off in a flurry of rose petals. "There. Now she's eating." Nora mumbled to Ren.

"You're amazing, Nora." Jaune smiled across the table at her, head resting in his palm, propped by his elbow. Nora shrugged and wolfed down a handful of fries. Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah. She really is." Blake smiled brightly for the first time in a long time.

"She's something. Jury's still out on what exactly." Ren smirked as she looked at him, scandalized at his words. He simply wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled the orange haired girl into his side. He felt something dig into his ribs and reeled out of the embrace.

"Oh, yeah." Nora reached into her grenade pouch and pulled out a long chocolate bar, setting it on the table. "Okay. Hugs now!"

Ren chuckled and pulled her back into his side. Smiles adorned their faces for the first time in over two months, and finally the feeling of home had washed over all of them. Weiss had managed to insist to her father that she stay and finish her studies, Blake almost got on a boat out to Menagerie, but decided it better to stay and help her best friends and partner recover. For the first time ever she had people that truly needed her. And she needed them.

Jaune went home to spend time with his family and heal, not to mention cry on his Mother's warm shoulder and let his flood of emotion over Pyrrha escape his lips. His sisters looked after him, and his father told him it was all going to work out in the end. He hoped he was right.

Ruby stayed with Yang, tried to cheer the miserable and one armed brawler up. But after two months of barely any luck, she decided to listen to her Dad and go back to school. Ruby now thought about bringing the rest of RWBY and JNPR round to surprise and cheer Yang up. They'd definitely do that at the weekend...she hoped. She hadn't even thought about her silver eyes...honest.

Nora and Ren had gone into Vale and spent their time together, whether that be in a B&B, or a hostel. Eventually the pair with nothing but each other returned to school, and found home once more in their friends.

Jaune laughed for the first time in weeks, a proper, genuine laugh as Nora stuck a pair of colorful straws into her mouth, pretending to be an Atlesian walrus. The table followed suit, laughing joyfully for the first real time in what felt like months. Blake had tears in her eyes, she was laughing so hard, Weiss was snorting occasionally, Ruby was giggling like hiccups, overall everyone - for the first time in a long time - was laughing, thanks to wonderful Nora.

But Jaune's smile vanished and his heart sunk as he looked over at the large double oak doors that led into the Cafeteria hall. Still clad in sweats and hair not even tied back, Pyrrha walked in, rubbing her hand up and down her opposite upper arm. People murmured, and laughter stopped. Pyrrha blew out a breath and tried to ignore the eyes as she went up to the front and grabbed a tray, taking a handful of carrot sticks on a plate, some soup in a small bowl and a small length of battered fish.

She cleared her throat and the hall echoed with it. Walking away she paced to the far end of the hall to the empty, furthest table, sitting down and resting her cheek in her palm. She propped her arm with her elbow and stuck a carrot stick in her mouth, eyes never leaving the plate.

Weiss and the others all looked among themselves, unsure of what to do. Jaune however. His heart ached. Painfully. Really painfully. To see the girl he loved in such solitude and upset broke his heart into a million pieces. So, despite his pained feelings, pushing aside his issues with loving her, and even his anger towards her selfless act - which in turn actually felt selfish - he stood up as her leader and...friend.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Nah. This isn't right." Jaune muttered, before blowing out a steely breath and pacing toward her with bold shoulders. Those shoulders did slack however as his nerves grew and his doubts crept in. But he tossed them aside as he stood over her. "What're you doing?"

Pyrrha paused mid chew and looked up through her fringe at him. "U-Um...sorry?"

"You not coming to eat with your friends?" Jaune asked, the light behind him illuminating his head in a halo of gold. Pyrrha swallowed her bite and wrung her hands together.

"But...I t-thought they all hated me?"

"Why would you think that?" Jaune asked softly. Pyrrha bit her lip and shrugged, itching her cheek with her sleeve engulfed hand.

"I...ki...I killed Penny." Pyrrha sniffed. Jaune's eyes filled with sorrow at her in this state of self loathing. "I don't blame them...because right now, I really hate me too." She whispered. Jaune sighed and took her tray of food. "Hey!"

"You want it? Come eat. With your friends. Cos...we miss you." Jaune smiled. Pyrrha looked over at the eager smiles at the far table, and her heart lit up for the first time in ages. Gingerly she stood up, stepping out of the bench and walking around to pace over beside Jaune. Slowly her hunched and small stature began to - if minutely - return to it's old bold and stoic posture.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby beamed, hands held up over her head.

"Hello!" Weiss beamed.

"Hey P-money. Sorry, Yang wanted me to start using it." Blake mumbled, still smiling.

"Oh it's capital "P" followed by capital "Y",iiiiiiit's...PYRRHA!" Nora exclaimed as energetically as ever.

"Hello Pyrrha. Come, have a seat." Ren pat the bench beside him. Pyrrha blushed and a hand flew up to her chest.

"O-Oh! W-Well...hello everyone." Pyrrha smiled brightly, sitting next to Ren, Jaune setting her tray before her. "Forgive me for my bad hair." She blushed. "A-And lazy attire."

"Oooh, Pyrrha's back, she's worrying about her appearance. That's a good sign." Weiss winked at her. "Here, have a drink." Weiss slid a juice box down to her.

"Th-Thank you, Weiss. Thank you everyone. Thank you Jau..." She looked over her shoulder but he was gone. He'd sat on the far side of Weiss, but still leaning over to smile at her. She gave a weak smile. It hurt, but it must of hurt a lot more for him. She'd give him time. He at least wanted her here, that much was certain, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Pyrrha smiled, and felt at home.

...

The group cheerfully all caught up, and Pyrrha's smile never left her face as slowly she began to reestablish herself within her friends. Jaune smiled at her across the table, just as the familiar clacking of Professor Goodwitch's heels filled the air. She trotted up to the front of the cafeteria, a thick notepad cradled in one arm, flanked by Professors Port and Oobleck.

Jaune nudged Weiss with his elbow and before she could snap at him, her eyes fell onto Glynda as she cleared her throat.

"Attention students!" Goodwitch's voice echoed, everyone falling silent and a sea of multicolored pairs of eyes landed on her. "Now...first of all, welcome back to the Academy. I want to say a warm thank you to all who returned for their studies. True colors come to show in real combat, and everyone showcased their bravado and determination in the Grimm attack. However, I'm sure you all noticed how few of you there are as appose to last semester. Sadly a lot of our students have not returned, either through choice, or parent's wishes. But, it is warming to see so many recognizable faces here today."

"Yeah...there is a definite...population drop." Blake murmured, looking around the room. Suddenly the doors to the cafeteria burst open loudly, as everyone gasped and looked up. A spiky mop of blonde filed in, followed by bright wavy blue, straight crimson and finally sage green.

"Sorry we're late Professor! Had to go over our transfer papers!" Sun announced. His eyes scanned the hall before finding Blake's. Her golden gaze gleamed at him with a smile. "My friends need me here, and hell...s'better school anyway." Sun shrugged.

"Very well mister Wukong. Please, can your team take their seats."

"Sure! What'd we miss professor?" Sun called across the quiet hall, as loud and bold as always. Goodwitch chuckled minutely under her breath, refreshed to see such bright and full of life students join her roster.

"I was just welcoming everyone back, and saying how few students are here now. But it seems the loudest and most memorable stayed behind." She said with a small smirk over her glasses as a gentle murmur of laughter echoed around the hall. Sun smirked and shrugged, sitting next to Blake. His hand went under the table and found hers, giving it a small squeeze. Her ears spiked up in shock and she blushed.

"W-What're you doing?" Blake hissed.

"Trying my luck." Sun shrugged, running his thumb over her skin. "And...being there."

"Thank you." Blake breathed, bravely squeezing his hand back. He let go and cleared his throat, crossing his arms on the table. Neptune sat next to him and his eyes met Weiss', sending her a comforting smile and a wink. She smiled and nodded, quickly dropping her gaze to her fingernails, clearing her throat. Stupid feelings!

Sage and Scarlet sat on the opposite side next to Pyrrha. Scarlet nudged the other red head with his elbow and her emerald eyes flit up to him.

"You okay?" he asked. Pyrrha smiled softly and gingerly nodded. Scarlet smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Team SSSN were amazing, and thankfully now the life force that could get Beacon's heart to beat again.

"Now, I want to address a few issues that some students brought to my attention this morning. Number one, yes the CCT tower is still offline, so your scrolls I'm afraid will be no good for long range calls. We've installed a temporary Atlesian Wireless fidelity system, so we can still send you all your studies and homework."

"URGH!" the entire room erupted.

"Hush please." Glynda huffed, touching a finger to her glasses to slide them back up her nose. "Number two, is our beloved Headmaster. Professor Ozpin is alive, and he is gently healing here. He's still very weak, but he says he'll promise to be up and about by the dance." She said, as the hall murmured. Jaune looked at Ruby.

"Dance?"

Ruby shrugged, looking back up at the professor. Glynda cleared her throat, finger tracing the pad before her.

"Item number three...we will be holding a Celebratory dance in a few weeks time as a thank you and welcome back party. It's for Beacon students only, and we believe it will be a fantastic opportunity for us all to rekindle what we had before that horrific event. More information will be given at a later date."

"Cool!" Sun shrugged.

"Yes! I'll have to order a load more doilies!" Weiss rubbed her hands as a plan formed. Jaune smirked, looking at Pyrrha as she nibbled adorably on a carrot.

"And Item number four is...is the..." She looked up at the table housing the Nikos girl. "...Is the return of Pyrrha Nikos to our school. I would like everyone to give a round of applause please to her brave and heroic efforts during the assault. She took on a burden no child should ever have to, and insisted on fighting Cinder Fall herself. No matter how dangerous and suicidal the odds seemed, she faced them for our betterment. To miss Nikos." Glynda cradled the notepad to her chest so her free hands could clap.

Soon the room erupted into a chorus of thunderous applause, team RWBY clapping brightly and beaming at her. Pyrrha bashfully blushed and looked down, Scarlet clapping and nudging her with his elbow softly. She looked up at Jaune, as he clapped almost forcefully, a somber and confused look on his conflicted face. She bit her lip and huffed, studying the table top.

"Now, give each and every one of yourselves a round of applause. You all earned it." Glynda clapped again, everyone smiling at the gracious act. The room erupted once more, until finally it dialed down. As silence once again reigned, bar a few coughs, Glynda replaced the notes in her hands, clearing her throat. "...and onwards, we-

"Is that it, huh? What, we're just gonna gloss over what happened, professor?" A student stood up, his fists trembling at his sides. His bright purple hair spiky and waving down his left hand side. The students all looked to the lone stander, Goodwitch raising a brow.

"Excuse me, young man?"

"Pyrrha?! I mean, she killed another student, and what? W-We just forget it? Just move on, huh?" he scoffed, swiping spittle away with his wrist. Jaune growled and looked over his shoulder at the teen, matched by Scarlet and Weiss. Pyrrha just dropped her head into her hands, groaning.

"That is enough!" Glynda snapped. "We do not alienate our students over accidents. We have all the proof we need that she was manipulated, there was no intent in her actions!"

"She's a murderer!" The student cried out.

"You can't murder a robot." Cardin's voice rumbled. Everyone gasped at him. "What? I'm sorry, but she was. We got hearts and soul, but that's just fancy lights and wires replicating life. I'm sorry, and I know...I'm an asshole, but..." Cardin sighed heavily, crossing his arms on the table. "...Ironwood had us all fooled, huh?"

Glynda looked at all her bickering, hurt and mentally wounded students, unsure of what to say. She gaped and stammered.

"Doesn't matter, Cardin! She should answer for it!"

"SHE IS!" Jaune snapped, standing up, fists shaking, paling white with their tightness. Everyone's eyes fell on him in shock. "Look at her! She's paying for it everyday since! We need to stop pointing fingers, and help her! You think she did it on purpose?" Jaune scoffed. "Well, then your as big an idiot as you look and sound right now. Penny was awesome, and kind, and Pyrrha never once meant for that to happen, but it did. She was manipulated by one of those students that helped Cinder. So how about instead of spitting vile accusations, how about we just be there for her."

"Can everyone just stop talking about me and leave me alone?!" Pyrrha shouted, uncharacteristically, before standing from her stool and running out of the hall, sobbing into her hands. The hall's doors slammed shut and Jaune groaned to the ceiling, all the hard work of cheering her up totally undone by one stupid student's outburst.

"Great, just freakin great!" Jaune growled. "You have any idea how big of an ass you are?!" Jaune shouted across the room at the purple haired boy.

"Oh step off Jaune." He retorted, scoffing. Jaune's eyes flared and he stepped over the seat of the bench, fist shaking until Weiss grabbed his wrist.

"No, you'll make it worse." She whispered softly. "Go after Pyrrha. Please."

"Weiss..."

"Jaune, practice what you preach!" Nora snapped with an uncharacteristic frown. Jaune gulped and looked at Goodwitch across the heads of the other students. Goodwitch sighed and waved her hand to the door.

"Go, mister Arc." She sighed softly. Jaune nodded and ran to the doors, not before glaring at the purple haired student as he sat back down. Sun frowned next to Blake.

"Remind me to kick that guy's ass later."

"I think there may be a line." Ren said as he nodded to growling Nora, frowning Ruby, snarling Weiss and the equally annoyed members of SSSN. Even the enraged Cardin.

"Okay...next topic..." Glynda rubbed her temple.

...

Jaune jogged down the halls of the Dorm block, before he ground to a halt, teetering on one foot before the door to their dorm room. He sighed at the muffled hiccuping sobs coming from inside. He scanned his scroll through the lock and he went to open it, but thumping his face into the door as it didn't budge.

"Huh?" he scanned it again and saw it turn green, but once more the door stayed firmly locked. Then he noticed the black aura coating the metal locks. He sighed and rested his forehead on the door.

"Pyrrha, let me in."

"No, go away." she cried. Jaune hated that sound, how her usual calm and regal tones sounded shaky and broken.

"D'you want me to push? Cos I will." He joked, hearing only sobs in return. He sucked his upper lip and closed his eyes, cool wood heating up against his forehead. He stammered and gaped, the words unable to teeter off of his tongue.

"...For it is in passing we achieve immortality..." He breathed, and he heard the uncontrollable sobs pause amid hiccups and sniffles. "...th-through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance, unbound by death, I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."

"By my shoulder protect thee. You hear that? I'm not going anywhere, Pyrrha." Jaune licked his lips and kept his eyes closed. "It was when you unlocked my aura, remember? Cos I do. I thought those words had taken you from me. I..." He felt his lips quiver and a seep of salty hot water pushed through his eyelids. "...I don't want to release your soul just yet. I don't want you to be unbound by...d-d..." He couldn't say it, choking on a single gasping sob. "Or infinite in distance...I want...I...

He staggered back as the door opened, Pyrrha standing there, her chest heaving, eyes raw and wobbly with glossy tears, streaming down her cheeks. She sniffed at his watery blues.

"What _do_ you want, Jaune?" she asked softly with a broken tone, hiccuping a sob. Jaune breathed and blinked.

"I want _you_." he managed to croak, unable to keep his aching heart under control. He stepped over and instantly wrapped her up in his arms, both of them sobbing uncontrollably. "I don't know what to do with my feelings, Pyrrha."

"I know, and I'm so so sorry!" She cried, stinging tears soaking into his collar and wetting his neck.

"All I know is...I still care about you, so so much. And...I want to be with you, but...I'm so scared!" He cried out, tightening his arms around her back. "For about twelve hours I thought you were dead. Nobody would tell me anything, I couldn't find Ruby, I...I..." he let a loud ugly sob wrack his body. "Do you know how horrible it was to think you were gone? Th-That I'd have to learn to live without you?" He whimpered.

"I'm so sorry I _-gasp_ -d-did that to you!" Pyrrha cried as she hugged him as tight as she could, as if he'd crumble and blow away otherwise. "I wasn't thinking rationally, we thought Ozpin had died and..." She sobbed a guttural wail. "...I know - w-w-with the Maiden's power, I had to think of a girl, someone else before I died so _she_ couldn't get it but, I couldn't stop...th-thinking of you!"

"Oh Pyrrha." Jaune cried into her neck, hugging her as tight as he could, hands balling up the hoodie she was wearing. "We're a mess."

"Yes, we really are." Pyrrha chuckled within her sobs. "But, despite the tears...th-this is the nicest feeling I've felt in so long."

"Mmm...I know." Jaune hiccuped as he held her warm body flush to his. He finally pulled his head up and blew out a breath, wiping his eyes, before kicking his foot back to shut the door behind him. Now firmly sealed in the quiet of their dorm, Jaune let her go and properly dried his eyes with his hands. Pyrrha sniffed and used her hoodie sleeves to swipe at her eyes.

"My eyes are so sore...Urgh, I'm sick of crying." Pyrrha muttered. "I'm so tired."

Jaune nodded and walked over to the radiator on the wall, turning the dial up a few clicks to warm the room up. Pyrrha watched as he shed his armor and belt, sword clattering to the floor. He walked back over to her and took her hands, getting her to pad over to his bed, where he lay back against the headboard and pulled her down atop him.

"J-Jaune, what're you-"

"Shh...don't think about us, or our issues for a minute, and just rest." he ran his fingers through her hair, Pyrrha humming at the contact and snuggling into his chest. "Shh...shh." He repeated softly as he continued to stroke her hair, letting her hiccuping gasps die down to low breaths and murmurs, her puffy eyelids slowly drooping over her eyes.

"Thank you." She murmured.

"Anything for you." He mumbled, stroking her hair, admiring the girl currently folded up into his lap. He continued his ministrations of stroking until she was sound asleep, pawing at his chest, gentle steady breaths leaving her parted lips. He smiled contently and shook his head to himself immediately, scolding himself.

"What're you doing, Jaune?" He asked himself. Pyrrha hummed in her sleep and shuffled slightly. _What's the alternative? Ignore it? Hope the feelings go away? They wont, and you know it. What you felt for Weiss was infatuation. But this? This is more. It'll only make the both of you miserable._

His thoughts tore rampant through his mind, until the warmth and the pleasant weight of her on his stomach and lap made his eyelids grow heavy. He murmured and let his head fall back against the headboard, as sleep claimed him too.

...

It wasn't much later that Ren walked in, tossing a pack of pamphlets on PTSD onto the desk by the door, rubbing his face with a tired groan. He opened his magenta eyes and locked onto Pyrrha and Jaune. It showed how well he knew Nora when he held out an open palm, the Valkyrie walking in and her mouth sealing into his palm, only to scream a muffled squeal of glee into his skin.

"This is happening, Ren!" She whisper shouted, excitedly. Ren smiled at the pair.

Pyrrha had wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck in her sleep and tugged herself up his body so her lips were flush with his cheek, breathing steadily into his skin, her legs having stretched out alongside his. His own arms had in turn wrapped snuggled around her waist, warm smiles on both their faces.

Ren beamed, and looked at Nora.

"It's not the end of their issues, and they have a lot to discuss, but...it's a definite step in the right direction."

"And, it's super duper cute!" Nora beamed, eyes wide as saucers with hearts for pupils. "They're so perfect for each other, I hope they figure it out, Renny."

"They will...they both need some time to readjust and most of all...talk." Ren shrugged, before sitting on his own bed. Nora sat next to him and sighed heavily.

"It's just...cruel. How all that happened to her. To them. I just..." Nora fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I want them to be happy."

"I know you do." Ren sighed, pulling her into his chest, kissing her orange hair, smoothing his hand up and down her back. "Me too."

Pyrrha mumbled in her sleep and her pouted lips pressed into Jaune's skin. The edges curled up and they saw those lips press firmer into his cheek, before closing again and nuzzling her face into his. Nora smiled and looked up at Ren, before kissing his chin, sliding her fingers up to thread within his.

"Yeah...they'll be fine." Nora smiled.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So yeah, chapter one! I know, it's a fluff and angst monster, but it was needed to set up the story, show what the changes to the finale were, etc. Next chapter will be better. Leave a review guys, I always read them, I feed off of them! I...I actually check my emails and account first thing when I wake up, and it's always nice to see a review or two to read and take on board.**

 **Your love on "We're Best Friends" still warms my heart, to know it was that popular is wonderful. Thank you all so much.**

 **So, Review begging aside, see you next time! I've got a lot of chapters already written. Just need proof reading, so I'll upload them at a gentle pace, possibly weekly. Let me know that you think, or how often you want an update. Within reason! Love you guys and see you soon - Arkos for life.**


	2. Sanitatem

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! So, I want to say...wow. Wow. I mean, just...wow! Seventeen reviews on one chapter, sixty followers, thirty favorites, it's just mind boggling! You are all so, so amazing and I love you guys so so much. You are awesome! It makes me excited for the future of this fic to know how many of you are already along for the ride!**

 **So, on that note, here's chapter two! A lot of mending in this. I was going to skip this whole chapter, because I wasn't totally pleased with it. But then the ending of the chapter came to my mind and I had to write it! I didn't want to just time skip a weeks time, because then it defeats the purpose of the whole fic pretty much haha.**

 **That being said, there is a plot to come later on, and my oh my, it's a good one if I do say so myself. Remember that this is an AU, so where some characters have yet to have developed pasts in the show, I'll give them my own here, that'll probably change in canon as the show goes on. But hey, this is our little world, right guys?**

 **So, with that said, let's step into the emotional whirlpool!**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Two: Sanitatem**

 **...**

The arrow tore through the ligaments in her ankle, plucking through them like a blade to harpsichord strings. She screamed in absolute agony, her voice cracking at the octave of it. Slumping forward to hands and knees, heart palpating in a cocktail of fear and regret. And regret fed the fear, and in return the fear nurtured regret.

The path was a circle. Round and round.

Through her matted crimson fringe, claret as black as tar oozing from her ankle, her tearful emerald eyes tilted up to her soon to be killer. Not more than a few months ago, she never knew this person. Now the villain in front of her was going to be the most important person to ever impact her, for she was going to end her life.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours. But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you would never had imagined." she smirked.

With all of what remained of her strength, sans Aura, her true heart and soul strength, she looked dead in the eyes of her killer.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

The woman frowned, reeling back to her full height over the wounded girl. "Yes." Her bow materializing from orange diamonds in the air.

This was it. The clock of her life wasn't in years anymore, it had collapsed to seconds, every single one precious. Every sharp breath of air, every heart beat possibly her last, every blink a gift, just to feel those minute muscles spasm. As the bow string pulled taut, the sharp arrow head poised to her breast, she knew she had to think of a girl. Any girl of good heart, to pass her power to. But damn her heart and mind, betraying her as tears flooded her eyes.

 _Jaune..._

She couldn't get the blonde goof out of her head, fizzing her nerves as a gooey ice cold guilt settled into her gut, to mingle and drown the butterflies of dread. She'd made him care, she'd made all of her friends care, spent months upon months building friendships that Jaune had gifted her, for as she helped him better his skills, he'd helped her better her social skills. So she'd waste her chance to pass the Fall Maiden's abilities to a friend, so that she could feel warm in the icy hands of death. She'd be selfish for just _fucking_ once, and have her damn ending the way _she_ wanted it!

So she accepted death, came to terms with it in that moment as her cloudy eyes closed tight, pretending Jaune's embrace held her, pretending his soft lips were on hers. She'd die, happy in his arms. She'd die thinking of him.

"PYRRHA!"

"WHAT?!"

So it was a fracturing of the plan when a pair of silver eyes ignited the very night into white all consuming light...

* * *

Pyrrha gasped as her emerald eyes burst wide open on the dark room. She panted and her eyes scanned the room, heart drumming against her ribs...and someone else's. With groggy and furrowed brows, she blinked and felt the warmth heating her front, and the band of heated pressure across her lower back. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw him. Fast asleep, breath a gentle puff of air into her cheek, his arms still snugly wrapped around her waist.

Pyrrha blinked and looked down at her hand splayed open across his shoulder, her head nestled under his chin, her legs intertwined with his. She smiled lightly and hummed, snuggling deeper into his chest, hugging him tightly as he grumbled in his sleep, arms around her waist squeezing lightly. She closed her eyes, smiling as she listened to the rhythm of his beating heart, of the rise and fall of his broad chest.

But her mind of content soured, her smile falling as she opened her eyes and pulled her head out from the crook of his neck, raising herself up just enough to look at his sleeping face. She sighed and cradled his cheek with her palm, before leaning forward and kissing his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Jaune." she breathed, gently gripping his wrists and untying them from around her waist. She winced as he snorted, holding still as he failed to wake. She blew out relief and safely maneuvered herself out of his bed, shivering at how cold she felt without his hold. She looked at Nora, fast asleep in her bed, and Ren in his against the far wall. She glumly nodded and huffed, taking her bag and quietly unzipping it, taking out her gym wear.

She brushed her fingers against something cold and metal, her hand gripping it and pulling it out of her bag. Gold reflected the dull light of the night lit room, emeralds swinging from their chains. She frowned at her circlet and threw it on her bed, shaking her head. She took all her armor out and felt queasy at the sight of it. Thrown astray on her bed, she grumbled at it and snarled, throwing her untied sash over it to hide it from her view. She took out the brown leather boots, poking her finger through the hole in the blood stained right boot. She grit her teeth and threw the boot back in her bag, a bit too loudly as Jaune rolled over in his sleep to face the wall.

Blowing out relief, she got up, gym gear in hand and went into the bathroom to change. Throwing on her figure hugging black yoga pants, crimson red vest top and tying her hair back with an elastic scrunchie, she tied up the laces on her trainers and filled up a bottle of water at the bathroom sink, before grabbing her scroll and leaving the night time dorm.

Jaune faced the wall, but with sorrow in his eyes, biting his lip as he listened, until the door shut. He frowned and crossed his arms, before trying to fall back asleep without her in his arms. It...it wasn't easy.

...

Pyrrha stepped into the gym, looking up at the clock by the window, beholding a chalk white moon of crumbled dust in the sky. She huffed at the time. "4:37am." She breathed, shaking her head. "What are you doing, Pyrrha?" She whined to herself, before bolstering her mind with a heaving sigh.

"M-Might as well be productive...and now I'm talking to myself. Way to go, Pyrrha." She rolled her eyes at herself, before saddling up to the squat rack, selecting the weighted plates and sliding them onto the cold steel bar. She stretched her muscles to-and-fro, before taking a sip of the icy water, and saddling up to the bar, readying it on her shoulders.

Over the course of the months away while the school was made safe for students to return, she spent the majority of her time either healing, training or working out. She was addicted to the burn of pumping lactic acid in her muscles, to the feeling of pain, but the reward of the gain. She still wanted to be the best warrior possible, but that wasn't the reason for her working out constantly.

It was a distraction. A distraction from her tormenting mind, and the thoughts that came with it.

She set the bar back on the rack after the fourth set, panting as she shook the tingling gooey feeling out of her bulging leg and rear muscles. She picked up her scroll, sitting on the edge of the rack, gulping back the icy water in her bottle as she flicked through the school's social media system. She paused mid gulp, popping the outlet mouthpiece from her lips, raising an eyebrow at a post in particular.

 _Jaymes Ickford - Five hours ago_

 _Sign this petition to make sure Pyrrha Nikos sees justice for what she did at the Vytal tournament! Thanks guys, you rock :)_

 _12 likes 45 shares_

Pyrrha whined and looked at the profile of Jaymes, recognizing him as the purple haired boy who spoke out against her during lunch yesterday. She bit her lip and her eyes watered, before she shut her scroll and dropped it on the rubberized matting, selecting extra weight, more than she should try on her own and went to squat again. Fuming, she set her legs shoulders width apart, and lowered herself down, grunting as she stood up. She easily knocked out another set, gritted teeth and tears in her eyes, as she tried desperately to focus on the pain she felt from working out.

 _Because I deserve to feel pain for what I did._

...

Jaune lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, fingers drumming together atop his chest. He huffed and looked at his scroll. He couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe surfing the web, or checking his account on BeaconBook might make him drowsy. He grabbed the device to try and distract his thoughts from Pyrrha, flicking through boring posts.

 _Velvet Scarlatina - Four hours ago._

 _Oh my gosh, please can you all look at my Photography portfolio! I'm sure you'll like it! Heart you! :) xx_

 _4 Likes 8 Shares_

Jaune smiled and liked the post, before scrolling down again.

 _Sun Wukong - Six hours ago_

 _Our permanent room at Beacon. Sweet dude!_

 _24 likes 34 shares_

Jaune chuckled, looking at the tagged photos of Sun wrestling with his team in their new room. He clicked the like button and scrolled down, eyes bulging as he stopped on one, stomach bubbling with dread and anger.

 _Jaymes Ickford - Five hours ago_

 _Sign this petition to make sure Pyrrha Nikos sees justice for what she did at the Vytal tournament! Thanks guys, you rock :)_

 _12 likes 45 shares_

Jaune growled and shook his head, before reporting the post to Professor Goodwitch, shutting the scroll off and slamming it on his bedside table, rolling over to face the wall. Now he was never going to get to sleep again.

...

Pyrrha locked up the gym with a sigh and walked away down the halls of the Dormitory block, a solemn frown on her face. She was upset. Upset that that Jaymes guy had posted it, but more the fact it had forty five people that agreed enough to share it. What if enough people signed it? Would they have no choice but to kick her out?

Pyrrha massaged her temples and arrived at her dorm, scanning her scroll and gently opening the door, a long sweeping arc of artificial light flooding the dark room. She quickly stepped in and shut the door with a click, sighing with relief.

"Are you okay?" Jaune spoke, startling her. She stared at his bed with wide eyes as he rolled over from the wall to face her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jaune, d-did I wake you?"

"No." Jaune sat up, rubbing his face.

"Oh. That's good then. I'm just going to-"

"You didn't answer my question, Pyrrha." His sapphire eyes hardened as he frowned. Pyrrha huffed, shrinking under his gaze.

"I umm...went to the gym. I couldn't sleep."

"You were asleep earlier." Jaune muttered. Pyrrha's eyebrows pinched.

"Yes. Then I woke up. People do that, Jaune." She snapped, immediately regretting the tone it came out in. Jaune sighed with a humorless smile.

"Okay." Jaune scoffed and nodded, going to lie down again.

"What do you mean... _okay_?" Pyrrha tilted her head, trying to keep their voices low as not to disturb Nora and Ren.

"I said Okay." Jaune shrugged, eyeing the ceiling. Pyrrha scoffed, chewing her lip.

"I know what you said, it was the way you said it."

"I just said okay, jeez, people do that, Pyrrha." Jaune snarked. Pyrrha scowled deeper at him.

"That was unkind."

"Mmm. So's not answering my question...again." Jaune quipped.

"Oh I'm not playing these games with you Jaune, just...go to sleep." Pyrrha sighed, pinching her brow as she moved towards the bathroom. Jaune scoffed a forced dry laugh.

"Yeah. Just...go to sleep, right? Close your eyes and the Sandman'll take ya." Jaune sat up, staring at her. "It ever occur to you that I'm - oh, I dunno - worried about you?"

"Don't be." Pyrrha muttered from the bathroom door. Jaune scoffed.

"H-How can you say that?"

"Because, there's nothing to worry about!" Pyrrha snapped, gripping the door frame as Nora and Ren stirred. Pyrrha looked at the other two rising and tried desperately to correct her mistake. "Oh, no! J-Just go back to-"

"What's going on?" Nora rubbed her eyes. Pyrrha dropped her head into her hands.

"Is everything alright?" Ren asked, yawning into his hand.

"Pyrrha, will you just talk to me, I thought we'd had a pretty good heart to heart yesterday?" Jaune asked softly. All the voices, all the questions, it all grew to a crescendo that caused Pyrrha to snap.

"Just shut up! Shut up and leave me alone, all of you!" Pyrrha yelled, dropping to her knees in the doorway, sobbing into her palms. Nora looked at Ren, eyes wide with worry and concern. Jaune immediately got up off his bed and padded over to Pyrrha, kneeling beside her and wrapping his arms around her. "Get off me."

"No. You shut up." Jaune said, rubbing her back in soothing circles. "You're not okay, and you'll continue to not be okay unless you let us help you."

"Why do I matter so much?" Pyrrha looked up at him, eyes filled with glossy tears in the dark room. Jaune breathed out heavily, icy pain gripping his heart.

"H-How can you say that?" Jaune blinked. "How - after everything - can you say that?"

"Because...I'm a mess...I-I can't sleep, and when I do, I see her...about to kill me. I wish she did."

" **Shut. up**." Jaune snapped. Pyrrha blinked at his anger. "Don't _ever_ say that to me or anyone ever again, do I make myself clear?"

"Wh-

"Pyrrha!"

"Y-Yes." She muttered, eyes clearing as she blushed. "I'm sorry...I'"

"You're only human, Pyrrha." He hugged her to his chest as they both sat in the doorway to the bathroom, cold tiles on one leg, warm carpet on the other. "You need to remember that."

"Mmm." She balled up his hoodie in her hands, sniffing into his neck. Jaune looked up at Ren and Nora and gave a small smile.

"Try and go back to sleep guys. I've got this." he whispered softly over her head.

Ren and Nora nodded, sharing a worried glance before laying back down, trying to let sleep drift over them again. It wasn't easy. Jaune hushed Pyrrha softly, stroking her back.

"Hey..." he smiled, stroking her ponytail through his fingers. "Your hair's tied up again. I missed that. I always liked your warrior wolf tail." he grinned as she gave a mix between a sob and a chuckle. He sobered and kissed her hair. "You're not the only one who has nightmares, Pyrrha."

She extradited herself from his neck, looking up into his puffy eyes. "Y-You do?"

"Of course. I thought you'd died, Pyrrha. It still haunts me how nobody told me if you were alive or dead, for...gods, for almost a full twenty four hours I thought I'd lost you." Jaune breathed a quiver in his throat. Pyrrha hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck again.

"I'm so sorry."

"Shhhh...shhhh...it's okay." he breathed, blinking the hot stinging tears down his cheeks. "We'll get there."

...

Sunlight began to well up over the horizon in hot tears of pastel orange and inky pink. Jaune awoke at his alarm, going on muscle memory to swat at his right, finding nothing there but cool air. He opened his crusty eyes, noticing how the first thing he saw was the edge of Ren's bed, and how distant his alarm sounded. It was on his bedside table. He was not in his bed.

He looked around and saw he was sat and leaned back against the Bathroom door frame. Then he felt her shift, felt her arms tighten around his waist. He looked down and there she was, sound asleep and hugging him around his middle, curled up against his lap, her head nestled in the crook of his left elbow.

He sighed and stroked the hair out of her still shut eyes, her gentle breaths painting warm spots over his hand. He gingerly extradited himself from her grip, laying her gently on the carpet as he padded over to shut up his alarm. Jaune rubbed his face as Nora and Ren began to stir.

He padded back over to Pyrrha, gently hooking an arm under her knees and around her back, bridal style. The Arc hefted her up gently, pacing over to her bed to softly place her on the crisp bedding, but found it covered in her strewn armor. He huffed and instead placed her on his bed, before heading to the bathroom to empty his bladder.

Content, he brushed his teeth and ruffled his hair in the mirror, before rejoining the slowly waking team.

"Say, Ren?" Jaune asked.

"Mmm?" his tired magenta eyes blinked at him.

"When do classes start up again?" Jaune asked as he arched his back, a few pops echoing. Ren tapped his chin.

"In a weeks time I believe. First week is for students to return and reacquaint themselves with everything...and everyone." Ren threw his covers off, yawning into his palm. Nora was still slowly joining the land of the living, sat in her bed hugging her sloth, eyes fluttering shut again. Ren huffed and walked around his bed to poke her nose, waking her with a gasp.

"Boop. C'mon. We gotta get up."

"Okay Renny." She yawned, throwing her own covers off. Jaune simply stared at Pyrrha, sound asleep on his bed. He knelt beside her, stroking the hair out of her eyes. He smiled as she gently breathed slow and languid huffs. He stopped himself, flinching his hand away, furrowing his brow at the hand like it had done the heinous act on it's own.

"What're you doing, man?" He sighed to himself, getting up and rubbing his face up and down, shaking his head to the ceiling.

"Jaune. You err, gonna shower, or..." Nora asked, head peeked around the door frame. Jaune shook his head.

"After breakfast. You go ahead."

Thanks Jaune, you're the best." She sung, shutting the bathroom door with a click.

"Nora, I'm still in here!" Ren's muffled yell sounded.

"Oh you've seen it all before, stop being a baby!"

Jaune chuckled and massaged his chin thoughtfully, looking at the armor on Pyrrha's bed. He set to work organizing it better, stacking the plates on one another, corset at the head of the bed and circlet rested on the pillow. He folded up her sash and set the fabric down at the side of the armor set, before opening his bedside table's drawer, fishing out a notepad and pen, scribbling a note.

 _Hey Pyrrha,_

 _Gone to breakfast. We let you sleep in, figured you needed - and deserved it._

 _Please don't ever think like that again. We need you so, so much. I need you so much._

He set it down on her bed, writing one last thing before leaving.

 _Missed your wolf tail, warrior._

 _..._

Jaune stepped into the cafeteria, sighing to himself. "Seems like all I do is sit in here." He shook his head, walking in to see team RWB sat at their usual spot. Ruby's face lit up and her hand waved over the crowd. Jaune grinned and sat down next to Blake, looping an arm around the Faunus' shoulder, startling her from her book.

"Morning Blake. Ruby, Weiss." he nodded to them all. He let his arm fall off Blake's shoulders and she smiled lightly.

"Morning Jaune. Are you okay, you look tired." Blake said with honest concern.

"Didn't err...have a good nights sleep." he shrugged. "You? You guys err...sleeping okay?"

The three members all exchanged looks and shrugged in unison.

"Ish." Ruby huffed. Jaune nodded, slapping a rhythm into the table as he looked over Blake's head at the front of the hall.

"What's the slop on the menu today then?" Jaune asked, Weiss giving a wry smirk.

"Oatmeal, that I think was made during the great war." Weiss stuck out her tongue with a groan, repulsed. "Honestly, I'd kill for some atlas toast right now." The heiress huffed, crossing her arms almost stroppily.

"Just eat your nuclear oatmeal, Weiss." Ruby added, eating a spoonful and grimacing. "On err...on second thoughts...yeaaaahhh, don't."

"I _told_ you, Ruby." Weiss frowned, eyes darting to Jaune. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Jaune snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry. Just uh...thinkin."

"About?" Blake shut her book, golden eyes focusing on Jaune. He smiled at their support and shrugged.

"Ahh, you know...just how things are at the minute." Then his eyes widened, licking his dry lips. "Hey, did you guys see what that...purple haired asshole wrote on the timeline last night?"

"On BeaconBook? No." Weiss leaned over to see as Jaune fished out his scroll, opening the app and scrolling up till he found it. He snarled and showed the screen to the three friends. They all gasped collectively.

"Oh that's it! He's dead meat!" Weiss stood up, rolling up her frilly sleeves, only for them to roll straight back down again. She grit her teeth and stepped out of the bench, Ruby grabbing her arm.

"Uh uh." Ruby shook her head. Blake growled, ears low to her scalp as she scanned the hall for him. Jaune huffed and set his scroll away, shrugging.

"So yeah, once again, he's doing more damage to Pyrrha. Honestly, I'm gonna hit him next time I see him." The Arc hissed, fists paling on the table.

"Hit who? Ooooh! Can I help?!" Nora exclaimed as she sat down next to Weiss, Ren right next to her.

"Jaymes Irkwood." Weiss snapped.

"Ickford." Ruby corrected, pushing her oatmeal away.

"Who cares, he's despicable and I hate him." Weiss frowned, crossing her arms. Nora raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" The Valkyrie deadpanned. Jaune opened his scroll and showed her. "That...RAT! Ooooooh he makes me soooo angry, Ren!"

"Me too." The stoic male grumbled.

"If he was on fire, I would not care." Blake mumbled, Jaune snorting beside her.

"Uhhh, Jaune...out of interest - totally unrelated - What's the earliest time we can check out our weapons, and where is he?" Nora asked sweetly. Jaune grinned at her, shaking his head.

"Guy is a douche." Ruby added, picking some sleep out of the corner of her eye. "Like, doesn't he see it was an accident?"

"Mmm, not everyone is as amazing and understanding as you all are." Jaune gave a weak smile as they all beamed at him, touched by his words. "Ah, whatever. He won't get anywhere, I reported it to Goodwitch. Hopefully she'll take it down."

"She will. We all saw how she defended Pyrrha yesterday." Weiss shrugged, examining her nails. She flit her eyes up to movement in the doorway, snarling. "Speak of the pig, and he'll roll in the mud."

"Huh?" Ruby raised a brow.

"It's a saying."

"I never heard that one before."

"I MADE IT UP JUST NOW!" Weiss yelled, Ruby snorting.

Jaymes walked in, padding over to his team, unawares of the glares he was receiving. Jaune rolled his eyes and turned back to the table as his stomach growled.

"Hungry much?" Nora raised an eyebrow.

"Very. Long night." he huffed, standing to go get something to eat. Anything at this point. Blake watched him leave, and as soon as earshot was out of range, the girls hunkered around Nora and Ren.

"What happened last night?" Ruby asked. Nora gulped and looked at Ren.

"Ren. What happened last night?" Nora asked. Ren huffed at her betrayal.

"I'm not sure. I think Pyrrha had a nightmare, or Jaune did. All I know is I woke up to them yelling at each other."

"Oh...Not. Good." Weiss sat firmly in her seat. Blake worried her lip and looked at Jaune with upset in her eyes.

"Are they okay?" Ruby asked.

"I...It didn't seem like a proper fight, per se. Just raging emotions." Ren shrugged with a humorless curl to his lips.

"Yeah. I think Pyrrha saw _his_ post on BeaconBook." Nora huffed. Weiss' eyes flared.

"That does it!" The Heiress stood up, wrenching her hand out of Ruby's.

"Weiss, don't!" Ruby winced as Weiss trotted across the hall, clacking her heels as she went. All Jaune saw as he turned to the sudden shift from conversations to low murmurs, was Weiss storming over to Ickford's table.

"Ah no." Jaune lifted the empty tray to cover his face. Weiss finally reached Ickford's team table, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned, hazel eyes looking up through his purple hair.

"Uhh Yeah?"

"Get. Out." Weiss growled every syllable. The hall went silent as they all watched the spectacle. Jaymes scoffed.

"W-Why?"

"Get out, or I will have the Professors escort you out." Weiss snapped again.

"But I haven't done anythi-

"LEAVE!" Weiss balled her fists at her hips.

"Pfft, whatever, Schnee. Think you're all that cos your family's got a lotta money? Big deal. You're about as important as the dirt on my shoe."

The room gasped, Jaymes shrugging and turning back to the table, unawares of Weiss' twitching right eye. She tapped his shoulder again.

"Urgh, wha-

SMACK!

Jaymes fell from the bench, lying on the floor as he held a hand over the welt forming on his right eye. Weiss shook her throbbing fist, uncoiling it and straightening her back. She cleared her throat and became prim and proper again.

"As I said. Get out. No one wants you here, so why don't you just leave?"

"Y-You can't just hit me!" He whined.

"She did. Lucky I didn't, asshole." Cardin snapped, looking over his shoulder at the small man on the floor. "Really think we need bullies at a time like this?" The Winchester mumbled into his cup, a guilty look in his eye. Weiss turned sharply and walked away, examining her nails, as the hall erupted in applause.

"I-I know what this is about!" Jaymes clambered to his feet, shoving his teammate away as he tried to shush him. Weiss stopped, looking over her shoulder. "S'bout Pyrrha! Well, I got 45 shares on that petition! See? That's how many people want her behind bars!"

"Pfft."

Jaymes looked at the noise, as Coco Adel stood from her bench, lowering her glasses to glare at him.

"We only shared that to get Goodwitch to notice it." The fashionista scoffed, Velvet and Fox nodding.

"How many people actually signed it?" Weiss asked with a smirk, cocking her hip. Jaymes stammered.

"H-How can you all be okay with this? She killed another student! W-Who are we if we just let that sorta thing slide?!" he cried across the hall.

"Pyrrha's friends! Penny's friends!" Ruby yelled, standing up on the table to see him at the furthest one, a glare in her eyes no one had ever seen in the thorny Rose. "What are we? We're good people who recognize when someone needs help, not threatened with prison! You? You're a...a...an asshole!"

"Oh yeah? M-My Dad? Yeah, my Dad's a detective! I-I'll tell him, he'll get Pyrrha put behind bars, for good, I-

A tap on his shoulder. He turned, his nose crunching at the blow as he fell back onto his spine again, clutching the broken body part. Eyes widened as Jaune shook his fist, gritted teeth swallowed behind his lips as he calmed.

"Dude? Shut. Up." Jaune huffed, stepping over him. Ickford lay on the floor, writhing, as Cardin grinned and poured his oatmeal over the boy.

"Oops. Guess I slipped. Oh well. _Accidents happen right_?" Cardin said with extra venom to let those last words and their hidden meaning settle. CRDL laughed and pointed, as Jaymes slowly climbed to his feet, looking at the high heels stood before him. His eyes raked up the shapely legs, to the black skirt, white pleated shirt, finally the narrowed green eyes and frown.

"Jaymes Ickford. It's come to my attention that you have been harassing a student who is under a lot of stress and upset right now, not only that but upsetting others at my school. I won't stand for it, or making petitions on social media to have one of _my_ students put behind bars. You transferred here after the tournament, but I'm starting to see that as being a big mistake."

"M-Miss, I-"

"No. For bullying another student, and starting what could be interpreted as a cyber bullying campaign, You're hereby expelled from Beacon Academy. Please, gather your things and leave the premises. Security will escort you out."

"I-I...You can't do that!"

"I can. I am the Headmaster. And I will if I see you as a threat or a bully to any of _my_ students. I suggest you make haste. You can return to your old school and tell them all why you're back there." Goodwitch snarled. Jaymes stared around the room, looking for anyone to fight his corner, but found nothing but hard stares. He swiped some oatmeal out of his eyes and pushed past Goodwitch.

"You'll be hearing from my father!"

"I'm sure." Weiss smirked as he stomped past her.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Jaune called, crossing his arms with a pleased grin. Goodwitch pinched her brow, but looked up as the room erupted with applause and whistles, all eyes on her. She held her head high and smiled lightly.

"Eat...Eat your breakfasts." She smirked and rolled her eyes, trotting over to follow Jaymes, to make sure he did leave. Jaune turned and saw Cardin look at him with a smile.

"Good work, Arc." He nodded, holding out a fist. Jaune at first flinched, but noticed the reason why. Gingerly he bumped his own to the Winchester boy's.

"Thanks Cardin. Nice work with the Oatmeal."

"Ah well, ya do what you gotta do." He grinned. Jaune made his way up to the front of the hall and grabbed a stack of toast and a foil pack of butter. He sat down at the table as they all stared at one another, each breaking out into grins.

"Weiss. You rock." Ruby grinned as Weiss sat down, huffing and flicking her fringe aside.

"What can I say? I have a gift."

"Err yeah! Like, smack a motha-

"Nora!" Ren snapped, the Valkyrie giggling. The table ate in comfortable quiet, until Pyrrha walked in, no longer dressed in sweats, but a crimson cardigan and some black jeans. She walked over to the table, offering a warm smile.

"Good morning!" She cheerily exclaimed.

"Pyrrha, you missed it, Weiss and Ja-mmph!" Ren covered Nora's mouth with his hand, but it was too late.

"Diiiiid what?" Pyrrha trailed, looking from Weiss to Jaune. "Jaune?"

"Ickford's gone. Got expelled." Jaune said before swigging back some juice.

"Oh!" Pyrrha held a hand over her chest. "Oh, that's...sad."

"Uhh, what?" Ruby exclaimed. Blake dropped her book to look at the towering warrior goddess.

"Yeah. Pyrrha, he was practically bullying you."

"Is that why he was expelled?" Pyrrha asked anyone in particular. The table looked at Weiss. "Weiss?"

"It's nothing."

"Okay, something fishy is-"

"Fish?!" Blake snapped her head up, drooling. Pyrrha carried on.

"...Something's going on, and I would like to know what, please." She crossed her arms.

"Weiss hit him. Jaune too." Nora mumbled.

"Nora!" The table yelled.

"Sorry, I can't lie to Pyrrha, I mean look at that face!" Nora pointed to the towering Nikos. The table looked up, blood running cold at her frown.

"You...hit him?" The cherry haired girl raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Jaune shrugged. "Guy was an ass."

"Very true, but I don't want you - the both of you - getting in trouble for fighting my battles." Pyrrha sighed sadly at the very idea of anyone getting in trouble for her.

"Goodwitch watched it, _then_ expelled him." Ruby chimed in.

"Yeah. No harm done. To us anyway." Nora shrugged. Pyrrha huffed and looked at Jaune.

"Anyway. In a change of subject. Jaune, I'm sorry. About last night." She said as she held his hands in hers. "I shouldn't have thrown all that at you, it wasn't right."

"It's fine, Pyrrha. Don't worry about it. It's what I'm here for." he smiled. Pyrrha beamed.

"I...oh well, thank you all the same."

"No worries." He gave her hands a squeeze, before they both blushed and wrenched their hands apart, clearing their throats.

"I'm umm, going to go get some breakfast." Pyrrha got up.

"Mmm, yeah get in there quick!" Jaune nodded, more to himself. He bit off a bite of his toast, pausing mid chew at the eyes on him. "Wha?" Crumbs fell from his mouth.

"You two...are killing me." Nora massaged her temples. Jaune rolled his eyes, chewing his breakfast, unable to stop his eyes from peering out of their corners at Pyrrha.

...

With an eventful breakfast dealt with, the two teams made their way back to their dorms. Pyrrha stepped up beside Jaune as they walked, smiling to him. He tilted his head with a gentle grin.

"What's up?" he chuckled lightly.

"Doooo you like my wolf tail?" She flicked her long bushy ponytail back and forth. Jaune's eyes widened, acting as the puppeteer, pulling the strings of his rising grin.

"Yeah! Looks great, Pyr. Nice to see you getting back to your old self. Gods know we missed it." Jaune smiled softly.

"Mmm, believe me, recovery is a long road. I'm making my way down it though. You?" She asked lightly. Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah. Same." he forced a smile.

"Miss Nikos?"

The group all stopped, Team RWB walking into the back of JNPR with a thud. They staggered but caught their balance, looking up at Goodwitch. Pyrrha cleared her throat, stepping forward to meet the Professor.

"Yes Professor?"

"I have something I wish to discuss with you. Would you accompany me to my office." the systematic teacher turned to walk away. Pyrrha looked at her team nervously, but only received supportive smiles and thumbs up.

"It'll be okay. Trust me." Jaune smiled to her, that being the only real validation she needed. The other five smiling and holding up their thumbs was the icing on the cake. Pyrrha blew out a breath and marched after Goodwitch, disappearing around a corner at the end of the hall. Jaune sighed and looked at the others, taking in their confused expressions. "It will. Trust me."

Pyrrha caught up to the curvy Professor, stroking her upper arm through the sleeve of her crimson Cardigan. She looped a lock of red out of her eyes and bashfully glanced up at Goodwitch.

"Professor, am I in trouble?"

"No, not in the slightest. I just have a few matters I wish to discuss privately."

"Oh. Okay." Pyrrha perked up slightly, before it faded back to worry. "Is it about the Fall Maiden powers? I-I'm sorry, perhaps if I had fought harder, I-"

"Pyrrha." Goodwitch stopped pacing to look at her with disbelief and worry awash on her features. "You could not have done more." the teacher said so softly, admixing with a conviction Pyrrha couldn't help but believe in.

"O-Okay." Pyrrha studied her shoes, before Goodwitch took off down the hall again. Pyrrha followed.

Eventually they arrived at her office, the teacher unlocking the door and stepping inside, shutting the door firmly behind Pyrrha. Silence was all consuming, only the sound of Goodwitch huffing and clacking her heels across the room, over to her desk.

"First matter, Pyrrha, is this." Goodwitch sat down in her chair, gesturing to the chair opposite. Pyrrha nodded numbly and padded over, nestling herself into the spinning office chair. "It has been brought to my attention that you are without weapons now."

"Oh. Y-yes Ma'am. I lost Milo and Akouo in the tower." Pyrrha said glumly. "It's a shame. I adored those weapons. They..." A smile filled her being. "They were my Mother's." Her smile dropped and she shrunk her head between her shoulders as an icy realization settled in her gut. "Oh. Combat classes are starting up soon. I...I don't have any weapons..."

"Mmm. Well..." Goodwitch reached under her desk, groaning as she lifted something. "The clean up crews recovered... _this_." She hefted the round golden shield up onto the table with a thud. Pyrrha's eyes widened.

"Akouo! I...You...How?" Pyrrha asked, gently gripping the edges of the shield and lifting it into her lap, fingers running over the cuts and scrapes to it's battered surface.

"They gathered these as well." Goodwitch dropped a bag on the table with a thud. "I'm afraid your spear didn't fair as well."

Pyrrha set her shield down against the desk and grabbed the bag, opening it and looking inside. She sighed sadly and took out one of the melted fragments of Milo.

"Milo. You've looked better." Pyrrha huffed.

"I'm fairly certain Adhara's Blacksmiths in Vale can fix your spear. The school will cover the costs." Goodwitch said as she leaned back in her chair.

"I...Thank you Professor." Pyrrha beamed at her. "How can I repay you?"

Goodwitch sighed softly and stood, walking around the desk to sit on the lip of the mahogany, hands in her lap as she almost maternally eyed Pyrrha. "You can smile like that, more often."

Pyrrha blushed and lowered the sack of Spear fragments to her feet.

"How have you been? Are you comfortable? Are your friends looking after you, are you eating properly?" Glynda crossed her arms under her chest, raising a brow over the rim of her glasses. Pyrrha sucked her lip thoughtfully.

"I'm...I'm okay, actually. Jaune and the others have been helping me tremendously. Thank you for the concern. I'm just tired, Professor. Constantly tired." Pyrrha deflated, eyeing her shield. Glynda nodded thoughtfully.

"Mmm. I'm sure you're tired of hearing people tell you it'll be okay, and that you shouldn't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders..."

Pyrrha bobbed her eyebrows in agreement, fiddling with her fingers, wrists rested across her knees.

"But, it will...and you must stop trying to carry such burden."

Pyrrha looked up softly to the usually stern and well kept teacher as she sighed, letting a woebegone expression cloud her usually vivid green eyes. The teacher bent down to one knee and placed a comforting hand on Pyrrha's, giving the pale flesh of the teen's hand a squeeze. Green eyes met.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Nikos."

"Huh?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow to the teacher. Glynda let her lips upturn in a wry humorless smile.

"Whether Ironwood, Qrow or even Ozpin say otherwise, I know we forced a horrible burden onto your shoulders. You should never have had to deal with all that." Glynda frowned to herself. Pyrrha's eyes widened and she bit her lip, mind racing like a gushing stream.

"I...It's okay."

"No it isn't, my dear. Being a Maiden is not a burden a young girl should ever have to bare. And, to throw all of that at you at such a stressful time in your life was not professional in the slightest. I am truly sorry for what happened."

Pyrrha beamed and sniffed, before wrapping her arms around the teacher. Glynda stiffened, eyes wide at the hug, but as Pyrrha's warmth radiated through her, she gingerly pat the teen's back, a small smile on her lips.

"I forgive you, Professor." Pyrrha smiled, reeling back out of the hug. Glynda smiled back and stood, brushing off the creases in her skirt. She cleared her throat.

"V-very well. That's all I wanted to talk to you about, Miss Nikos. Remember to take your shield and umm..." She looked at the bag of shrapnel. "Spear."

"Of course." Pyrrha gave a little laugh, picking up the shield and slinging it on her back with a metallic thump. She shivered at the weight on her back, and a flash of memories hit her. Arrow impacting the edge, fragmenting into embers and rolling around to form anew on the other side...spearing through her ankle. Pyrrha blinked and took the shield off her back with a start, content to carry it at her side instead.

"And Miss Nikos?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"If you ever need to talk, talk in a way you feel you can't with your team. My door is always open." Glynda gave a small shrug. "I may not be a trained psychiatrist, but I've been a Professor long enough to know how children tick."

"I..." Pyrrha huffed. "Thank you. I appreciate the support."

"Of course. Now. Off you go. Have dinner and get to bed early." the stern teacher became systematic all too quickly. Pyrrha straightened and nodded, picking up her bag of fragments and heading out the door.

...

Several hours passed in that time. Pyrrha stored the bag of broken Spear and her Shield in her locker, dinner was had, People shared gentle conversation, until bed time arose. RWB declared "Goodnight" and shut their dorm door, as Pyrrha decided to grab her weapons from her locker and store them in her room. She wanted them close. She wanted to check all the pieces of Milo were in the bag. At least that's what she told herself. The truth? The truth is she missed the feel of her shield and spear, their combined weight on either her back or arms. Even the bad memories they produced, she wanted to try and at least face them head on. What better way than with a Shield and Spear?

Nora lay on her stomach, humming a tune as she kicked her legs back and forth behind her, flicking through a magazine. With her chin propped in her palm, she flicked her eyes up to the Dorm's door opening. Red hair filed in, Nora beaming.

"Hi Pyrrha!"

"Ah!" Pyrrha startled, stumbling into the room, her shield leaving her fingers to cartwheel across the room. "Nora. _Pleeeaase_ stop doing that." Pyrrha breathed heavily, hand over her heart.

"Oopsie. Oooh, hey what's in the bag?!" Nora shut her magazine, throwing herself off her bed onto her feet in blinding quickness.

"Oh. Well...it's my Spear." She shook the bag, rattling. " _Was_ my Spear."

"Ah. Wait, did Goodwitch give you that?" Nora pointed a skeptical finger at the bag, then the face down shield. "For realsies?"

"The clean up crews found them on the tower. That was nice of them." She smiled, setting the shield down against her nightstand, bag O' Spear plopped on the bed by her armor.

"I'll say. Bet ya glad to have em back, huh?" Nora skipped across the room, resting her chin on Pyrrha's cardigan shoulder. Pyrrha chuckled.

"Actually, I am. I missed training with them. Sure, I have to get Milo rebuilt, but Professor Goodwitch said the school would cover the costs. I can afford it, but...still, it's nice."

"Mmm. Ooh! Ren's making pancakes! Want some?!" Nora jumped into the small space between Pyrrha and her bed, the Invincible girl reeling back from the sudden blurry mass of turquoise and orange that filled her vision. "C'mon, you know ya do!"

"Pancakes sound lovely." Pyrrha hummed, looking at her strewn armor. She worried her lip and her brows pinched, Nora catching onto the action.

"You okay?" The Valkyrie asked tenderly. It wasn't often that the softer, calmer side of Nora exposed itself, Jekyll breaking free of Hyde, but it was always there. If anything, it was refreshing to have such a chipper and sometimes crazy element to the group. Smiles and laughs seemed to be massively contagious around her.

"Have you seen Jaune at all?"

Nora bit her lip, shrugging. "Yeah."

"Well where is he?" Pyrrha took the note on her pillow, smiling at his handwriting, finger tracing the inky lines. Nora's eyes flit out the window to the rooftop above CRDL's room. Pyrrha put the note in her drawer and let her brow curl in confusion. "Nora?"

"Training." She shrugged, wincing under Pyrrha's befuddled stare.

...

 _"Alright Jaune, just like we practiced."_

Pyrrha stopped herself from stepping any further, her hand pressed into the cool and lacquered texture of the double doors. She paused, listening to the voice...her voice. A perplexed crease overcame her features, before pressing her ear to the cold oak.

 _"Follow these instructions."_

Pyrrha pressed her ear deeper into the wood, muffling all but what she was trying to focus on, her pulse drumming a rhythm in the foreground of her mind. The cherry haired girl heard a long drawn out scraping of metal, followed by a swish as a sharp blade was swung gently, cutting through the air. She knew the sounds blades made, she'd spent her whole life around them. Studying them, dodging them, swinging them. She knew that sound was a blade leaving a sheath. She swallowed thickly, hands pressing deeper into the now hot and clammy oak.

 _"Shield up..."_

Pyrrha's eyes widened, pupils constricting as a swallowed gasp squeezed out of her throat, like a clenching fist around a hose. That _was_ her voice...

 _"Keep your grip tight..."_

Jaune was watching the training video she made for him! Before...before it all went wrong. Before the attack, but not before she'd made up her mind on the Fall Maiden conundrum.

 _"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward."_

Pyrrha chuckled lightly under her breath, still trying to deeply concentrate on the sounds he was making, from shuffling boots on shelling concrete, to creaking leather gloves. She knew he always forgot that one. Curiosity got the better of her, a shiver running down her spine as she gingerly creaked the grand door open enough to peer around it, cold night air licking an icy path down her exposed cheek.

She saw him. She could see him, stood in his armor, sword in one hand, shield raised in the other, stance perfect. Balanced on the coping stone, with the backdrop of a deathly black skeletal CCT tower, was his scroll. The screen emitted a gentle blue glow, matching the sapphire in his reflecting eyes.

 _"Ready? Go."_

With a battle cry of cracking vocals, Jaune lunged forward in a surely death inducing stabbing motion. A gust of wind irradiated out from the shimmering tip of Crocea Mors, the lunar light glimmering over the sword's contours.

 _"Again!"_

Jaune reeled the sword back in, throwing the almost four foot long blade over his shoulder to pool momentum in his shoulder and elbow. His voice hounded in, before erupting in a yell on the outward swing, slashing with all his might, staggering slightly as the blade's weight tugged his succumbing body. Bless him, he must have been out here for a while by now.

 _"And again."_

Jaune panted, but yelled turning around to swing downward in a slash that would without a doubt cleave flesh and smash bone. He panted heavily, lactic acid pumping course through his body. Pyrrha's eyes stung at how hard he'd been training, even when she wasn't there. Because he promised a long time ago, to never give up, to keep trying even when she wasn't there. He'd taken everything she'd told him truly to heart, to better himself, all to help those around him. He was the best leader she could ever ask for, her eyes welling with compassion and adoration for the boy. She pulled her head back behind the door, eyeing her feet, chewing her lip.

 _"Okay. Now, assuming you aren't cheating..."_ Pyrrha's training video laughed. _"...We can take a break."_

Pyrrha behind the door though, wasn't laughing. She missed this. She missed him. She couldn't look at her armor without feeling horrible flashes of violence, of impending death, of coming to terms with it, only to have it stripped away in the blink of an eye, and realizing that she was going to live, when she was certain her last seconds had surely ticked to zero. Pyrrha felt guilt over Penny, she felt guilt for hurting Jaune. But what nobody else seemed to realize was the pain she was feeling moreover was the idea of staring into the abyss of death, embracing it and accepting it, saying your goodbyes to all you loved mentally, wondering what the black expanse of death was like (Was it white? or gold? Who knows but the dead?) and having it all wrenched away the moment your clock hit zero, and the arrow pulled to full tautness in the bow.

Pyrrha flit her eyes up and peered around the door again as Jaune stood up tall with pain in his azure eyes, watching the video on his scroll with a heaving chest.

 _"I know this can be frustrating...and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount...but...I want you to know that I am proud of you..."_

Pyrrha bit her lip and closed her eyes, steeling herself to just open them enough to see him. See the way he stared at her in that video, the way it pained him, knowing that this video was surely made after she'd decided to become the Maiden, and definitely twenty four hours before she fought Cinder.

He was in so much pain, just like she was, and yet here he was, training, wearing his heavy armor, swinging his heavy sword, fighting through the weight of feeling low, because he made her a promise to always practice.

 _"I've never met someone so determined to better them self. You've grown so much since we started training..."_

Pyrrha stood up with a new found determination and walked away, back to her dorm with a fire burning in her green eyes. On the balcony, Jaune stared at the video screen, of Pyrrha speaking directly to him in a way she hadn't since before it all went wrong. Before their relationship was cracked, scattered in particles to the wind. He knew those pieces were still in reach, he just had to man up and find them, piece the puzzle of them back together! His sapphire pearls flit back to the screen, sword in one hand, shield heavy in the other.

 _"And I know this is just the beginning."_

He was stood exactly where she filmed this. Where Ozpin's tower was a monolith of vivid green in her background, here - in the present - it was a dull carcass, skeletal and broken, an epitaph to all that happened on the night the Vytal Tournament collapsed.

 _"Jaune..."_

She said, and his eyes closed, biting his lip at the soft regal tones saying his name, taking what he thought was dull and listless and making it sound like forbidden fruits. Oh how he felt their relationship had become exactly that. Forbidden fruits.

 _"I...I..."_

Very rarely did Pyrrha stutter. Very rarely did something overcome the regal and self sure woman. But that was exactly it. She wasn't self assured. She was insecure to her deepest core. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible girl, she was self assured, because she was an image pandered to an audience held greater. But Pyrrha? His innocent Pyrrha who slept with her socks on because she had bad blood circulation to them, his Pyrrha who slept with the light on till she was eight because she was afraid of the moon, his Pyrrha who fumbled her words when in his presence because he was too blind till too late to see she loved him!

His Pyrrha was just a girl. A girl that needed his help.

 _"I want you to know, that I'm just happy to be a part of your life."_

On the screen, her gloved hands came up to cup over her heart, an adoring smile on her face. He heavily sighed, resting his sword wielding knuckles on his brow, as he realized this was what she assumed may well be her last chance to convey to him how she felt. She never thought she'd have the courage to kiss him in what she assumed to be her last moments.

 _"I'll always be here for you Jaune."_ She smiled, before the video ended, rewinding to the start again. He stepped forward and bent down, clinking the blade as it lay on concrete, freeing his hand to stop the video and shut his scroll. The glow it emitted had vanished, leaving his face dark and his eyes cloudy.

"So umm...partner?"

Jaune's eyes widened and he quickly stood, turning around. His eyes bulged further and his sorrow curved lips upended into a beaming smile. Stood before him, her armored attire on, sash billowing in the gentle night breeze, Circlet proudly donned on her head, Pyrrha smiled, Akouo in one hand and a training sword in the other.

"Doooo you want a training video, or the real thing?" she smirked playfully, lifting her shield and raising the grey training blade. Jaune grinned eagerly and lifted Crocea Mors, over the top of his shield.

Now? Now was when they truly started to heal.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So aww! Who liked that, huh? I took several parts of Volume 4 I liked and tried to incorporate it into this. What did you think? Did I pull it off? Was it any good? Please let me know with your wonderful reviews!**

 **Take care guys, and I'll see you next week. Next week? Weekend at Burnie's (Tiayang's)**


	3. Older Sisters

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Thank you again for the wonderful reviews! Looking forward to the future of this fic even more so now! So to address a few things before we get started, I wanted to confirm some stuff:**

 **Jaymes Ickford is officially confirmed as the Antagonist of Act One.**

 **Oh and this story will have four long Acts. Think of each Act as a season (Volume) So this Act focuses on healing and repairing, mending friendships and stuff, while the next focuses on different story aspects and stuff. So the story doesn't get stale, and to keep you all filled in on where it's heading!**

 **Oh and Dulcis is pronounced (Dool-chis) and it means sweet in latin. It'll be important later. So, on that note, enjoy and speak to you after! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Three: Older Sisters**

 **...**

A week had elapsed since returning to Beacon, and while Pyrrha and Jaune had darted around conversations on where they stood relationship wise, their friendship was slowly on the mend. Perhaps ignoring the idea of love for a while had been what they needed to rise to their feet again and rebuild that crumbled bridge between them.

Pyrrha was already a lot happier. She had started taking care of herself again, washing her hair and tying it up in it's usual bushy wolf tail of voluminous locks. She was out of her comfort sweats and into her school uniform again. Her make up around her eyes was once again bold and tipped with emerald green, and her cheeks were flush with a dusting of rosiness. And to top it all off, her circlet was firmly placed back around her head. She was back.

A smile adorned her face as she padded across the campus with her books hugged to her chest. She hummed a happy tune as she stepped around a clean up crew sweeping up stacks of rubble, only hearing her humming as vibrations in her head, drowned out by a Circular Saw nearby. Clanging hammers filled the chorus of power tools, as hard hat wearing builders walked scaffold poles over to the slowly forming exoskeleton of steel framing around the Dormitories.

"Hey Pyrrha." Blake said, startling the red head as she joined her in her walk, her studies held under one arm, and her "Ninjas of love" book pinched between finger and thumb.

"Oh! Hello Blake! How are you on this fine day?" Pyrrha beamed. Blake raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Man, somebody's happy, huh?"

"I am, I really am. I'm feeling myself again, Jaune and I are friends again, in fact everyone seems to be." Pyrrha sighed contently. Blake studied her face for a moment.

"So...you two..."

"Well...a few nights ago, on the roof...Jaune and I...we...we..." Pyrrha bit her lip to hide her grin, Blake's eyes widening, longing to know what she was talking about. "We started training again!"

"Oh..." Blake sagged, huffing. "So, I'm guessing you and Jaune haven't talked about...you know...where you stand." Blake waved a free hand before her. "...emotionally."

"Mmm, well, yes, that conversation is yet to be had, but I'm not thinking about that right now. It's kind of refreshing actually, not thinking about crushes or love." Pyrrha stepped around a temporary barrier, as a chunk of rubble fell off of the scaffolding. Blake stepped around, her ears lowering with a slight hiss. Pyrrha looked at her and smiled.

"I like your ears."

"Huh?" Blake snapped her eyes to her, before she calmed. "Oh, right...yes, well...It's nice, not caring what anyone thinks. And...to be honest, nobody's said anything derogatory." Blake smiled, touching a finger to her Cat ear. "I liked my ribbon and bow, but...it's nice not to constantly worry about forgetting it."

"Well I think they're cute. So does Sun." Pyrrha smirked as Blake stammered.

"Sh-Shut up." Blake smiled bashfully into her shoulder. Pyrrha chuckled. "But thanks."

"Fair enough. So umm...I wanted to ask you something." Pyrrha stopped walking by the fountain, Blake stopping too, looking at her with confusion. Her smile had dropped and bright emerald eyes had narrowed to sad slits. "Last week...first day back. That student had an outburst..."

"Oh yeah. Ickford was an ass, don't worry about it." Blake's ears lowered.

"He wasn't wrong though, was he?" Pyrrha looked up. "Lately, whenever I feel happy, it always ends with me feeling guilty. Like I don't deserve it."

"Because of what happened with Penny..." Blake finished with a sigh. Pyrrha bobbed her eyebrows in agreement. "Pyrrha, you gotta stop blaming yourself."

"How? How do you just stop...blaming yourself?" Pyrrha asked. Blake went to retort but sighed. Who was she to talk? She still blamed herself for what happened to Yang.

"I...I dunno. I guess you just rely on your friends, and hope time heals those wounds-"

"Hey guys!" Sun looped an arm over Blake's shoulders, startling the Faunus. "Wassup?"

"S-Sun!" Blake stammered. "Nothing much, just about to go to lunch. What are you-"

"Hello Sun!" Pyrrha waved around Blake. Sun winked and shot her a thumbs up.

"Sup Pyrrha?"

"Not much. You? How is your team settling in?" Pyrrha beamed brightly, hugging her books tightly.

"Ah, well, it's all good! Our new room's awesome! You should come check it out sometime." He bobbed his eyebrows at Blake, the girl growling and lowering her ears. "Yeesh, tough crowd today. But nah, I'm out here cos Scarlet said something interesting's out here, and I wanna see what it is."

"That's...odd." Blake raised an eyebrow, still rather enjoying his arm draped around her shoulders as they walked. Pyrrha chewed her lip, studying the courtyard, eyes landing on the wide open green by a tall statue of a man mounted upon a stallion, a sword aloft high above the noble steed, forever captured in cast iron.

"Who's that?" Pyrrha asked, pointing at the blue haired woman in the middle of the playing field. The youngest students were all gathered around her, some dribbling a foam ball back and forth between their feet.

"Dunno. Wanna go find out, Blakey?" Sun grinned at her.

"Yeah. Why not." Blake shrugged his arm off, Sun huffing and delegating to simply pacing beside her. The three students soon arrived at the square of grass, shadowed by the statue of one Thaddeus Rex Arc, atop his loyal horse. Pyrrha studied the statue for a moment as it blocked the sun's blinding gleam in the blue sky, before her eyes fell to Sun as he spoke.

"So err...hey!" He shrugged. The blue haired girl looked up from the students she was talking with, walking over with a fond smile on her face.

"Sun Wukong. I take it you're taking good care of my baby brother?" She crossed her arms under her generous chest. Pyrrha studied her with a thoughtful gleam. The woman was obviously older than them. She was tall, yet very curvy, like Yang's body but slightly wider at the hips. Her incredible form was clad in figure hugging charcoal grey leggings, with silver strips running down their outer length, to knee high leather lace-up boots. Her thin waist and buxom chest, wrapped in a maroon jacket, with graphite grey stripes running from the shoulders down to the very ends of the sleeves. The golden zipper across the front ran up to below her collarbones, stopping as the collar was peeled back to expose a touch of cleavage. She was a beautiful woman, no doubt, with rich long blue tresses, voluminous locks thrown over her left shoulder, leaving the right side of her head and neck bare to the elements.

Deep azure eyes scanned them, a bantering smirk on her lips.

"Baby brother? Wait..." Sun's eyes widened, piecing the chain of events together as he gasped loudly. "No way! You're Neptune's older sister?!"

"Err, yah? What, my bubby bro not speak about me?" She pouted, feigning upset. Her eyes snapped to Blake and Pyrrha. "Who're you two?"

"Oh, err hello! My name is Pyrrha, and this is Blake." Pyrrha smiled, setting her books down on the concrete step of the statue above. Blake thought it was a good idea, obviously, as she too set her books on the step, freeing their hands. "Pleased to meet you...umm..."

"Eryka. Eryka Vasilias. I would say you should know that, but apparently my little bro is embarrassed by his older sister." She frowned, shaking Pyrrha's hand. Being ever the perceptive observer, Pyrrha noted the gauntlet of rich brown leather hide wrapped around her right forearm. "Hi Blake."

"Hey." Blake smiled, shaking her hand. "So, are you...much older than Neptune?"

"Cos you don't look it! Grrr." Sun grinned, winking at the curvaceous older sister of his best friend. Blake slapped him upside the head, Eryka smirking "Ow! Sorry!"

"Cute. In a...you're a dumb shit way." Eryka smirked as Sun shrugged, before she turned back to Blake and Pyrrha with a huff. "No, I'm four years older. Graduated from Haven a year before Neppy joined."

"Neppy?" Sun grinned. "O-Oh this...this is too good!"

Pyrrha chuckled and looked back to Eryka as she bore her eyes deep into the Mistral champion. "Umm...do you have any questions?"

"Hmm? Oh sorry kiddo. I just...recognize you."

"Oh. Well...yes, that's probably down to-"

Eryka snapped her fingers in a eureka moment. "I know! You went to Sanctum, right? Before Beacon?" She stepped closer. Pyrrha nodded. "Same. Went there then to Haven. I remember when you were a first year, oh, soooo cute! These little ones all riled up and ready to prove em'selves!" She wrapped Pyrrha in a gentle headlock, knuckling her head. Eryka seemed very comfortable in herself, very forward. Like Sun and Neptune. It was refreshing. She let go of Pyrrha and chuckled. "Oh, you had such talent even early on. Glad to see you did well for yourself kiddo."

"Thank you." Pyrrha tried to tame her now futzed locks. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you."

"Ah, that's cool, little'en! I was a last year when you would of joined." Eryka shrugged. "So...how's my little brother fitting in?"

...

Walking across campus, Ruby, Jaune and Neptune shared idle chit chat, their stomachs grumbling at the promise of lunch. Jaune shivered as a gust of wind tore across the open expanse of the courtyard, Ruby leaping onto his back and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Ooof! Y-You're heavier than you look!" Jaune chuckled.

"I'll be heavier once I get some food in my belly! I'm hungry!" Ruby yelled into his ear.

"Same. Neptune? Neptune?" Jaune turned, confused at the lack of response. They both paused, looking back at the frozen blue haired boy staring out at the group of people laughing on the grass patch by the statue. His eyes were wide, pupils as small as pins.

"Neptune? You err, doing okay there?" Jaune set Ruby down on her soles, both looking confused.

"Oh no.." He breathed. "No!"

"What?" Ruby asked, trying to see whatever he was seeing. "Is it rain? Water?"

"Worse. Sun's...talking with...m-my-"

"Who's that girl with the blue hair talking to Sun?" Ruby interrupted. Neptune grabbed fistfuls of his hair, before running in that direction. Jaune and Ruby shared a confused glance, before shrugging and following.

"Lunch can wait. This looks like it'll be funny." Ruby snorted.

...

"...So, yeah. I've been fighting the White Fang for some time now." Blake finished her story, Eryka smiling warmly.

"Well, kudos to you, kiddo. That's brave. Real brave. You ever need a hand fighting those pigs, I'll put my number in your scroll, and you hit me up. Licensed Huntress and all." She smirked. Blake nodded with a beaming smile on her lips, before Eryka's blue eyes flit up to the wacky waving arms of a blue haired boy running towards her, dread in his eyes. "Neppy!"

"No! What're you doing here?!" Neptune panted, gripping her upper arms, his stare deathly.

"Hey, Neptune." Sun grinned. "Never told me you had a sister, let alone a hot one too!"

"Urgh..." Neptune lulled his head down.

"Aww, did you miss me, little bwuvva?" Eryka pouted, wrapping him into a tight hug.

"Lucky." Sun mumbled, Blake stamping on his toes. "OW! Okay, jeez I'm sorry!"

"Eryka! Why're you here?!" Neptune's muffled cry came from the Vasilias woman's chest.

"Err, to make sure you're okay?!" Eryka placed her hands on her hips, blue brow raised. "When I heard about what happened with the Tournament, I left my village and made my way here as quick as possible! I was so worried!"

"Yeah...great." Neptune huffed, lowering his head as Team CRDL stopped walking mid step, eyes locking onto the blue haired girl. Within the blink of an eye Cardin was beside her, clearing his throat and spritzing a mint spray into his open maw.

"So, who's this lovely lady?" Cardin winked.

Eryka turned to the large teen, raising her eyebrow. Neptune's face reddened and he dropped his head into his hands. Jaune simply grinned, enjoying his torment. He knew what this was like, what with seven sisters, most of them older than him.

"How does it feel?" Jaune whispered with a face splitting grin, Neptune whining.

Sun saddled up to his best friend. "Dude? I'm hurt! You never told me you had a sister?! What gives, man!"

"Cos you hit on everyone! I didn't want you hitting on my sister, okay?!" Neptune's usually calm and cool tones now raised and cracking.

"Fair enough." Sun shrugged, turning back to look at the current spectacle, being CRDL drooling over Eryka Vasilias. Russel shoved Cardin aside, smoothing a hand over his mint Mohawk.

"Wassup, hot stuff?"

"Aww, I'm sorry sweetie, but you've gotta be this tall to ride the rides." Eryka smirked, holding a hand way up over Russel's head. "So beat it, before I have Dulcis tear you a new one."

"Urgh...he your boyfriend?" Cardin sagged his shoulders. Eryka scoffed.

"To you? Yeah, he might as well be." She crossed her arms. "Oooor, being a fully fledged huntress who is...majorly out of your league, I could just use this here _Constantine Damascus_ to blow you into teeny tiny chunks." She withdrew the block of gunmetal grey on her back, it folding out into a rather ferocious looking shotgun. "Now beat it."

"Y-yes Ma'am!" CRDL quickly stumbled over each other to escape her wrath, Eryka smirking proudly as she went to fold her weapon back up into storage form, only for a flash of rose petals to startle her.

"Oh my gosh! A shotgun! Wassit do?!" Ruby exclaimed with maddening excitement.

"It...fires...shells?" Eryka leaned back from the frightening girl.

"Oh." Ruby sighed, slumping back to her feet. "So it doesn't turn into an awesome...I dunno, SCYTHE! For example?" Ruby swung Crescent Rose round into her hand, hugging her beloved weapon to her cheek. Eryka let realization dawn on her.

"Oh! No, No it doesn't sweetie. I'm a stickler for the classics, and Neppy called dibs on being the family rifleman." her azure eyes flit up to her brother.

"Neppy?" Jaune grinned as Neptune whined even louder into his hands.

"Dude, be cool!" Sun whispered.

"I'M TRYING, IT'S NOT EASY!" Neptune yelled.

"Besides..." Eryka slung the now folded up Shotgun onto her back. "...I like to pick my enemies off from a distance."

The group of friends all shared confused glances. "With...a shotgun?" Jaune piped up. Eryka smirked, holding out her arm by her side, the arm with the leather forearm guard.

"Nope...with this."

Suddenly they all felt the innate desire to duck, as a shadow swooped over their heads, talons digging into her leather clad forearm, huge feathered wingspan clapping the air. A rainbow of eye colors widened as Eryka doted over the huge bird of prey currently stood on her arm. A few more gentle flaps of wings to right it's balance, and the Eagle gave a flick of it's beaked head.

"Meet Dulcis. My other weapon... _and_ sweetie pie, hello baby." She cooed, reaching into a pouch at her hip, pulling out a dead squirrel and throwing it up into the air before the huge Eagle's snapping beak. Within seconds it had swallowed the mammal whole, turning to nibble at the feathers beneath it's wings.

"Oh yeah...and my sister's a Falconer." Neptune said with barely any enthusiasm. The group all exchanged looks of awe, until Pyrrha stepped forward, a shocked and excited beam on her face.

"Oh my goodness, he is beautiful!" The Invincible girl exclaimed, gingerly reaching a hand forward. "May I?"

"Of course! He won't bite." Eryka lowered her arm slightly so Pyrrha could gently pet the soft feathery head of the massive Eagle.

"Oh dust, he is gorgeous! So soft." Pyrrha doted, petting the creature. "Jaune, look! I-I'm petting an Altum Eagle!"

"I see that. Wait, a what?" Jaune looked befuddled, Ruby still slack jawed and in awe. Eryka looked at Jaune softly.

"Altum Eagles are native to Vacuo, in the Mountain ranges to be specific. They're the biggest non Grimm birds of prey on Remnant, and kill their prey by grabbing them and throwing them off of mountains. I know, metal as eff, right?" Eryka grinned.

"A bit." Jaune stepped over, next to Pyrrha, who was still wide eyed and beaming at petting the beautiful golden brown bird. Eryka winced and Jaune flinched a hand back due to her reaction.

"Just...don't overcrowd him. One at a time'll be okay with him, I'm sure. I've taken him to shows and stuff, and he's fine around people." Eryka kissed the bird's beak as he reared his head back up away from Pyrrha's retreating hand. The Invincible girl simply stared at her hand.

"My hand...just pet...an Altum Eagle...that's amazing!" Pyrrha beamed brighter than ever. "Thank you, Eryka. I've always wanted to see one, let alone pet one."

"My pleasure, kiddo!" Eryka sobered, looking softly to Dulcis. "They're pretty rare now. When I graduated Haven I went and killed Grimm wherever I could find them. But, I got tired of it. So, I moved to Vacuo for a while. I wanted to build up some Lien so I could continue my travels, so I got a job at a coffee shop. Short. Sweet. To the point. Shop owner eventually recognized me and my shotgun, Big ol' Lien signs in his eyes..."

The group all listened to her talk, Jaune gently stroking the Eagle. "...He got me to fight arena matches, rake in the winnings. Problem is I saw a pittance of that money. So, I moved on. Found this nice little village outside Vacuo. I protected it from Grimm, and they let me live there. Fair trade, amirite?"

"Pretty fair to me." Sun shrugged, Blake nodding.

"...This guy there, I'll never forget it. He's got two eagles, one on each arm, and he tells me...he tells me: "Hey kid, you wanna be a Falconer?" The beauty of these birds...how could I say no?" She smiled at her bird, kissing the beak of her loving Eagle. "So, yeah...here I am. Boring story, I know."

"No, No! It's amazing! What a life you've had, and you're only young." Pyrrha smiled.

"Take note boys, that's how you win a girl's heart. Call her young! Man, if I weren't straight I'd snatch you up, honey. Unless you're taken."

"There's...someone." Pyrrha said with an inflection, Jaune's eyes widening with fright. Had she moved on? Had he missed his chance? She gave the smallest of looks to him and Jaune blew out a breath, realizing what she meant. That she wasn't going to give up on the idea of "them."

"Well, whoever the lucky guy is, remind him of it. Or, I might just have to lend you Dulcis here. Drop him from forty feet up." Eryka winked. Pyrrha chuckled.

"I might have to take you up on that in future." She smirked at Jaune, as he tried to focus entirely on petting the bird, a blush in his cheeks. Ruby walked over, replacing Jaune in spoiling the Eagle with attention.

"This...this is better than a gun sword." Ruby beamed. "Woooow!"

"So...bro, you got any lucky ladies on the radar?" Eryka turned her attention to Neptune, his blush returning.

"Kinda..." Neptune rubbed the back of his neck. "No! Be cool, be cool, c'mon!" He slapped himself, throwing on his custom grin, winking. "I mean, yeah, they're err...lining up." He sobered with a sigh.

"Sorry, Neptune. Your sister's got you beat in the cool department." Sun smirked, punching his buddy's arm playfully. But Neptune's expression soured further, his downcast growing gloomier.

"Why do you think I try so hard?" Neptune mumbled, shrugging Sun off and walking away, hands in his pockets.

"Neptune!" Eryka called, before frowning at Sun.

"What'd I say?" Sun held his arms up.

"Neptune's always had confidence issues. Even though he's a good looking guy, and lovely person inside, he's always had this obsession that he'll never be good enough, be cool enough. Guess I did just suck all the attention away." Eryka sighed. Everyone all looked downcast, not realizing how far Neptune's obsession with being "cool" went. "I'm gonna go talk to him in a bit. I'll give him time to calm down first though."

"I take it you were close growing up?" Blake asked, bobbing on her toes. Eryka smiled sadly.

"Yeah, you could say that. It's surprising really, what with the age gap, but...Hey, I figured the mean older sister role is way overused, don't ya think?"

"Oh yeah. Big time." Jaune chuckled, Ruby still reveling at the feel of silky feathers brushing against her finger tips. Eryka looked at Ruby and smiled at an idea.

"Wanna hold him?"

"Wah? me!" Ruby gulped. "N-No, it's okay!"

"It's not a problem. Here." Eryka clicked her tongue, Dulcis walking up her arm to perch on her shoulder. Ah. So that's why her hair was thrown over the opposite shoulder. The Vasilias girl unclipped the leather padding on her forearm and gently took Ruby's hand, strapping it to her right arm. "You a south paw?"

"Huh?"

"lefty or a righty?" Eryka chuckled. Ruby blushed and gulped.

"left, I guess."

"So you'll be fine."

"What does that mean?!" Ruby panicked. Eryka giggled, ruffling Ruby's hair.

"I'm messin with ya. Dulcis, come." She clicked her tongue in command, the huge Eagle hopping down her arm with barely any pressure on his talons, though judging by the tiny pinprick holes in her maroon jacket, it took a while to teach. Ruby gulped as Eryka daintily perched the massive bird on her finger and thumb, holding Dulcis out as he flapped his gigantic wingspan to keep balance, before perching him on Ruby's arm.

"Whoa...h-he's heavy."

"Mmm. Big bird." Eryka shrugged with a smile, rolling her shoulder. "Good boy, Dulcis. Be nice to...I'm sorry sweetie, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Oh! Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

"Pleasure's mine, Rubes." Eryka reached into her pouch and pulled out a dead possum, throwing it up in the air above Dulcis, who easily caught it in his beak, snapping it up and swallowing it whole. Ruby just marveled at the creature on her arm.

"O-Okay, can you take him back please?" Ruby winced. Eryka chuckled and looked at Pyrrha out of the corner of her eye. The wide eyed gleam, the guilty obsession over the simply gorgeous bird of prey. It didn't take a genius to work out all these kids were struggling with what happened at the Vytal Tournament. If she could cheer them up with her Eagle? That's a major plus.

"Pyrrha? Wanna hold Dulcis?" Eryka smirked as Pyrrha's eyes widened.

"Can I? Oh my goodness, that would be amazing!" she bounced on her toes.

Eryka chuckled and took Dulcis onto her shoulder as she unstrapped the padding from Ruby's arm and transferred it to a very excited Pyrrha Nikos. The girl was practically bouncing she was so excited at the prospect.

"Oh! I uhh, probably not important, but he's got a taste for the flesh of Mistral girls. He's used to me, but anyone else, well..." Eryka bit her teeth together with a loud chomp. "That's not a problem is it?" Eryka said with such feigned honesty, that Pyrrha gaped, fear in her eyes. Eryka snorted and grinned, Pyrrha rolling her eyes with a loud exhale.

"You're the worst!" Pyrrha chuckled with relief.

"I kid! I kid!" Eryka laughed, strapping the padding to the red head's arm. "Ready?"

"Yes! Very!" Pyrrha bit her lip. Jaune just smiled from the sidelines. He hadn't seen Pyrrha this excited in...gods, months! It was so amazing. Eryka was amazing.

"Okay! Dulcis, play nice buddy boo." Eryka gently transferred the massive Altum Eagle to the Invincible girl. "Theeere we go!"

"Oh dust...oh dust...Jaune...Jaune! I'm holding an Altum Eagle!" Pyrrha's smile threatened to swallow her entire being, her eyes watering she was so happy.

"That's...That's awesome, Pyr!" Jaune beamed a toothy grin. He loved seeing Pyrrha's smile. But to see it this wide? To see her laughing joyfully as she pet the massive Eagle on her arm? There's nothing sweeter.

Ruby blew out a breath as she stood next to Jaune. "That...was kinda scary."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Big ol' killing machine on your arm." Jaune chuckled. Eryka stepped over to Pyrrha, a solemn smile on her face.

"Sorry to cut your time short, kiddo, but I gotta go find my bro, and Dulcis screams the place down if I'm not nearby." The huge Eagle let out a loud squawk, Pyrrha wincing. "Yes you do, don't argue." Eryka argued with the bird, letting him hop up onto her shoulder. She unclipped the leather from Pyrrha's arm, strapping it back to her own, as Pyrrha simply stared in awe at her arm, at the red prickling marks on her skin that had been pressed down by the heavy pads of an Altum Eagle.

"That was lovely! Thank you so much!" Pyrrha beamed brightly, wiping her eyes. "That's...That's one of the best experiences I've had in all my life."

Eryka placed her hands on her hips, smiling to the Invincible girl, a massive Eagle on her shoulder, shotgun on her back. She could not look more badass if she tried.

"My absolute pleasure, Pyrrha. Look, I'm staying here for a week, two max. Wanna keep an eye on my brother and catch up with some old friends like Winter Schnee."

"You know Winter?" Ruby stepped closer. Eryka shrugged, the action making the Eagle stagger slightly.

"Yeah, you know her?" Eryka tilted her head.

"Weiss - her sister - is on my team." Ruby smiled. "My friend too!" Eryka smiled warmly at the shorter girl, ruffling the breast of her Eagle atop her shoulder.

"Me and Winter, We hang out occasionally. She needs to just get laid. Seriously. So does that Qrow guy she drinks with. Bash their heads together, I swear." Eryka rolled her eyes, pretending not to see the blush on Ruby's face. "I take it, by the color of your face, you're the same Ruby Qrow speaks of so warmly?"

"My Uncle."

"Mmm. He's a good man. Good man who knows how to drink." She rolled her azure eyes. "Right. Everyone, it has been a pleasure meeting you. I have been Eryka Vasilias, thank you and goodnight." She took a bow, Dulcis falling off her shoulder and flapping his wings to gently drop to the floor with a thump. "Oops! Forgot you were up there, bubba!" She held her hand above the grass, the angry Eagle stepping back onto her hand, walking up her arm with extra digging talons. "Ah! Yeah yeah, I get it, you're pissed."

"It's been nice meeting you too, Eryka." Jaune smiled, shaking her hand. "Thank you so much for doing that for Pyrrha." He whispered with a heartfelt smile. Eryka simply smiled back.

"Remember what I said. Be good to her. Or Dulcis'll be comin for ya." She winked. Jaune stammered.

"Oh, W-We're not-"

"Don't kid a kidder. Just...figure it out, yeah? Happiness is in short supply." She cupped his cheek, before giving it a gentle slap. "Right. Time to find my brother..." the Vasilias girl narrowed her eyes at the group of friends, before pointing to each one individually. "Pyrrha, Ruby, Blake, Sun and...Jaune, right?"

"Yep!" Ruby exclaimed with a bright smile. Eryka grinned and saluted them with a swish of two fingers off her brow.

"See you guys around!" She turned, walking away across the Courtyard, people practically parting like the red sea for the Eagle wearer.

"Wow." Ruby chuckled. "She's cool."

"I didn't realize Neptune had those issues." Sun shrugged, his face somber. "I'm gonna go find him."

"Sun..." Blake grabbed his shoulder, the boy shrugging her off and taking off in a jog to find his friend. Blake huffed, wringing her hands, picking up her books, looking up at how the midday sun had morphed the shadows in their time talking with Eryka.

"We should get lunch!" Ruby declared, taking Blake's hand and disappearing in a puff of petals. Pyrrha was left standing with the biggest grin on her face.

"I didn't realize you loved wildlife so much." Jaune shrugged, stepping up to her and thumbing towards the cafeteria. She nodded, picking up her books and walking beside him with a bright smile.

"I do. Just...we very rarely see it. Around here, it seems to just be Grimm after Grimm. I used to love reading books on wildlife in whatever down time I had between training when I was little. The Altum Eagle was without a doubt my favorite growing up. To see one, let alone hold one was..." She breathed out heavily, grinning. "Wonderful."

...

The Cafeteria was dead, almost empty as lunch was practically past it's prime. Cold cuts and a few cellophane wrapped baguettes were all that remained at the front of the hall. Janitors began to mop the floors and cooks closing down their work spaces. Weiss looked up from her plate, frowning at the group walking in.

"Ahem! Where have you all been? I've been holding this table so no one takes it for..." She looked above them to the clock on the wall. "Twenty minutes!"

They all took their seats, Ruby bouncing next to Weiss. The Schnee scanned their expressions. Blake's was an odd mix of worry, awash in her eyes, and a small smile on her lips. Pyrrha was practically radiating happiness in blinding beams. Jaune was his usual content self, though as always his darting eyes revealed inner thoughts that no doubt contradicted his outer shell.

"Guys, we might wanna grab a sandwich at least." Jaune looked up at the front of the hall. "Hey, where's Ren and Nora?"

"Oh they ate. Twenty minutes ago! Said they were going to go study." Weiss shrugged, sticking a chunk of lettuce in her mouth. The others stared at her, puzzled. She gulped the bite, huffing. "Ren's studying, Nora's building a pillow fort."

"Better." Jaune nodded. "I'll grab us all sandwiches. Blake? What d'ya want?"

"Tuna please." Blake mumbled, looking at the tall glass windows as they let golden rays of light pour in, trickling across the tables and inevitably her black locks.

"Ham! Ham ham ham!" Ruby bounced, Jaune chuckling.

"I'll come with you." Pyrrha got up, following him over to the bank of cold food. Weiss' gaze followed the pair, before flitting her eyes to Ruby.

"So...where have _you_ been?" The frost haired girl narrowed her eyes. Ruby bit her lip.

"I held an Eagle."

"Err...elaborate?" Weiss raised a very confused eyebrow. "Now?!"

"We met Neptune's older sister." Blake shrugged, enjoying the way the color drained out of Weiss' face. "She's nice. Scary. But nice. If you're on her good side."

"I get it." Weiss bit her lip, drumming her fingers into the table. Suddenly she snapped frozen still. "Wait, what does that have to do with an Eagle?"

"She's a falconer. Owns a big Eagle." Blake sat up straight, looking towards the front of the hall to check Jaune grabbed the right sandwich.

"Sh-She's...owns a..." Weiss gulped.

"She said she knows your sister?"

"Winter?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Interesting." the Schnee tapped her chin. "I haven't had much contact with her lately. A few texts here and there to check everything's okay, but..." Weiss huffed, shrugging, throwing on a plastic smile. "Must be busy, right?"

"Of course." Blake nodded, a small smile playing over her lips. "Sun's looking for Neptune. He's...upset."

"He is? Why?" Weiss asked with furrowed brows, crinkling the pale line of her scar. Blake huffed and slid across the bench to be directly opposite Weiss.

"Between us, Neptune has some really deep confidence issues." Blake gave a woebegone sigh, Weiss' face awash with worry.

Jaune put his plastic wrapped sandwich on the tray alongside the others, Pyrrha looking at him intensely as he sighed.

"You remember the dance?" Jaune's azure gaze mingled with her emeralds. She nodded with a warm smile. Of course she remembered. How could she forget such a wonderful night? Jaune huffed heavily. "Well, Neptune came to talk with me on the balcony after you left."

"Mmm, I remember." Pyrrha picked up her own sandwich, looping a fallen crimson lock behind her ear as she did so. Jaune held the tray out so she could place it atop it.

"He told me he couldn't dance, and that's why he blew Weiss off. He's...really self conscious. I just didn't realize how far it goes, you know?" Jaune somberly shrugged. Pyrrha nodded.

"Mmm, yes. Perhaps having such a successful older sibling has made him feel he has to try harder to...live up to her?" Pyrrha said with an inflection to her words, unsure in her answer. Jaune bobbed his shoulders, their eyes locking.

"Maybe. Hell, he and I could write a book. We'll call it "Trying to live up to family names and successful siblings. The Jaune and Neptune story." He held a hand out, imagining the book's cover in his head. Pyrrha huffed.

"Yes well, we all know what lengths you're willing to go to to prove yourself. I'm worried how far Neptune's planning on going." Pyrrha mumbled sadly, pacing with him back to the table. Jaune set the tray down as Weiss stared at him with the most hurt, vulnerable look in her ice blue gaze.

"Weiss? You okay?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Neptune. I didn't think twice about how nervous he was at the dance, only about how he blew me off!" Weiss sniffed. "Oh, I am such a bitch!"

"Hey, hey, whoa, what's goin on?" Jaune asked anyone at the table. Ruby bit her lip and shrugged, gingerly reaching for her sandwich. Blake huffed.

"I told her about Neptune."

"Blake." Jaune sighed. The Faunus shrugged.

"She has a right to know, if we do."

"Yeah, I...I guess." Jaune huffed loudly, chest expanding and shrinking back rapidly. "Weiss, we're in the same boat you are. We never really realized how much that "Cool" demeanor he has made for himself is really covering a lot of inner issues." The teen ran his fingers through his straggly blonde locks. Pyrrha leaned forward on her elbows.

"We met his older sister, Eryka. His...entire personality shifted around her. He looked...sad." Pyrrha solemnly spoke, Weiss chewing her lip as her ice eyes darted in thoughtfulness.

"Yeah, he kept going on about trying to "Stay Cool" you know?" Jaune bobbed his fingers, mimicking quotations. "Sun didn't really help the situation, either."

"What?" Blake's ears snapped up, frowning at Jaune. The blonde leader worried his lip, azure eyes fighting back the dam he knew was crumbling in his throat.

"I'm sorry Blake, but he didn't need to say what he did."

"How was he supposed to know Neptune was that uncomfortable in himself?" Blake tilted her head with a feigned curiosity in her eyes, that bled annoyance at Jaune. "And he's gone to find him, hasn't he? Stop badmouthing him."

Jaune groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. "I'm...I'm sorry, Blake." He looked up at her, and she could see the irradiating apology swimming in his blue eyes. Her sharp ears softened and her rigid form slouched.

"It's...It's okay." Blake swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry too."

The patter of Weiss' nails clacking on the table top, admixed with the jittery bobbing of her knees under the table told a lengthy story in itself of her worries for the blue haired boy. Jaune watched her face, constantly flitting her eyes up to the doors of the hall, flinching upwards at even a pin dropping. The Arc blew out a breath, getting Weiss' attention. Finally the Schnee broke.

She breathed. "I have to find him, where is he?"

"Hang on Weiss, let Sun find hi-

"Where is he?!" The Schnee snapped, her eye twitching. Jaune sighed, shrugging in defeat.

"We dunno. He walked off upset. All I know is Sun and his sister are looking for him." The Arc grumbled, picking at the plastic wrap on his sandwich. Weiss stood up, wiping the moisture from the corner of her eyes.

"Well now so am I." She took off in a brisk walk, heels clacking as she held her head high, or tried to lest the emotional weight drag her down. Ruby frowned and bit into the plastic around her sandwich, tearing it off with her teeth.

"We all need healing." Pyrrha sighed softly, taking her sandwich and unwrapping it. "We can't do it alone though."

"True enough." Blake mumbled, picking up her own sandwich. "So umm...Ruby?"

"Hmm?" The Rose looked up, akin to a Hamster, her cheeks stuffed with bread and ham. Blake let out a gentle laugh, before carrying on with a thick gulp.

"W-When do you think you're going to visit Yang?" The Faunus asked with a very brittle tone. Ruby sobered, gulping her bite down.

"So, umm...since we couldn't go last weekend, this Friday I'm going to see Dad and Yang. I hope you guys can come, I-I know it's a little late notice an all, but I-I think she'd love to see her friends right now." Ruby shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll be there." Jaune smiled.

Blake cleared her throat and nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah...I'll see her. I umm...I want to."

"Thank you." Ruby beamed to Blake. She knew how hard the Faunus girl was dealing with what happened to Yang, and the fact she hadn't run away meant the world to them. She was here to stay, for her friends.

"I'll be more than happy to come along...i-if the offers open." Pyrrha bashfully shrugged. Ruby snorted.

"Of course it is, silly." The silver eyed girl beamed. "Thanks guys. Yang'll cheer up when she sees all of you there, I just know it!"

"We'll have to bring her something nice, like...flowers." Jaune shrugged, the table's eyes all looking at him with raised brows. "Eh yeah, good point. This is Yang Xiao Long we're talking about."

"Just bring yourselves, guys. That's what's gonna cheer her up." Ruby's beam began to droop and sober. "Oh, I hope it does."

...

Weiss' heels clacked as she paced around the school grounds, biting her lip as her eyes scanned every nook and cranny for the boy. She worried her lip further and grumbled a whine, throwing her fists down by her hips.

"Where are you, Neptune?" She huffed. She turned to walk back the opposite way, bumping into someone, the other stumbling back as eyes reopened.

"I'm sorry, I wasn..." Weiss trailed off at the purple mop of hair before her. Her teeth gritted at the sight of hazel eyes. "You! I thought you were expelled!" Weiss stamped her foot. Jaymes shrugged, looking over his shoulder at his teammates.

"Suspended for a week. Weren't enough grounds to expel me, plus my team put in a good word. Long story, want the details, talk to Goodwitch." He grinned. "I'm here to stay, frosty."

"Don't call me that." Weiss frowned.

"Why? What you gonna do? Punch me again? Think I don't remember how everyone humiliated me?" He scoffed, giving Weiss a shove, sending her stumbling back into two pairs of arms. She looked up at her balance bringers. Orange hair besides magenta eyes. Weiss sighed relief as Nora and Ren pushed her back up to full height.

"What are you doing here?" Ren challenged, stepping in front of Weiss.

"Yeah, what, you _really_ want a pair of broken legs?" Nora growled, stalking around Weiss. Jaymes scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Why you protecting a Schnee? They're dirt. Filthy fat cats." He spat a glob of spit on the floor by Weiss' shoes. The Heiress frowned. Ren smirked, Jaymes not liking the way his demeanor shifted. "What're you smirking at?"

"You. Nora, I think I've got Ickford sussed." Ren let his lips curl further.

"Mmm? Oh doooo share, Renny!" Nora grinned, crossing her arms beside her best friend.

"Got me figured? Pfft, I doubt it." Jaymes growled.

"Oh you were an easy puzzle I solved on day one. No, this just confirms my theory." Ren took a deep breath. "You're an Ickford, yes?"

"Well done, yeah."

"You said your Dad was a detective?"

"Yeah, once again, bravo." Jaymes clapped with fake enthusiasm. Ren smirked wider.

"So your Father must be Mauve Ickford, the same Detective made infamous for his inability to drop the case against the Schnee Dust Company, and eventually uncovered the controversial Faunus labor?"

"Yeah. Man's my hero. He showed these ponces where to stick it." He growled as Weiss' eyes lit up aflame.

"You! Your Dad is the reason I had such a horrible childhood?!" Weiss stepped up to him, gritting her teeth as her fists tensed. "My family's company has been at war with the White Fang because of your Dad!"

"Am I supposed to feel something to that?" Jaymes snapped.

"In fact, yes..." Ren cleared his throat, Nora grinning.

"Ooh this is gonna be the best bit! Go ahead Renny, finish him!"

"Your Father was hailed as a great detective, and heckled by others. You feel you have to live up to your Father's legacy, but also outdo it, so instead of being a Detective, you chose the path of a Huntsmen. When you saw what happened with Pyrrha during the Vytal Tournament, you saw a way to do your own detective work, and try to...as you put it, "Put her behind bars." All this, to impress your Father, yes?" Ren took a breath.

"I...I..." Jaymes stammered, controlling his gaping maw. "Sh-Shut up, you're wrong!"

"Obviously _so_ right, Renny." Nora said out the corner of her mouth, Ren grinning. Jaymes frowned, his eyes snapping to Weiss. He shoved her again.

"You think I give a damn about your childhood? Pfft, you grew up in a mansion, people throwing toys and money at you every time you pissed the bed!" He ranted, enraged at how right Ren was.

"You really have no idea how bad my life was growing up, do you?" Weiss scoffed, letting Ren and Nora once again ease her back up onto her heels.

"Can't have been that bad, what with you being the Heiress to their damn fortune and all-"

"I don't want it!" Weiss yelled, everyone's eyes widening. Weiss calmed, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Not anymore I...I...I...I have to find Neptune." Her voice cracked, turning and briskly walking away, gasps and hitched breaths sounding into her hands. Nora growled and withdrew Magnhild from her back.

"Oh just say the word, Ren!"

"Nora, no." Ren said softly, his hand placed over hers. Nora raised an eyebrow at him, but looked back to Jaymes as the bully grinned.

"See? Rich girls." He rolled his eyes, gasping at a tap on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, but was caught off guard as the world spun before him, albeit it was his heels doing the turning and the strong grip on his arm.

"Who are you, and get off me!" he squirmed out of her arms, turning to face the taller feminine form. "How dare you place your hands all over me like that!"

"Rich girls? Poncy spoiled brats? Kid, you're filling that quota quite well yourself." Eryka smirked as the shorter man grew angry.

"Yeah? I lead a team! Team JSPR! So, I suggest you treat a team leader with some respect. Besides, I am the son of-

A high pitch scream filled the courtyard's air as Jaymes suddenly found himself being hauled up higher and higher into the sky, kicking his legs at nothing but afternoon air. Tears in his eyes, he looked at the vice locked talons punctured through his brown leather jacket, up at the massive flapping wings of the giant Eagle currently hauling him up into the air.

Eryka pinched her brow with a sigh. "What an asshole, amirite?" she said nonchalantly, as if her Eagle wasn't currently dragging a student almost forty feet up into the blue sky. Nora grinned manically at Eryka.

"I've known you, like, three seconds, and I already LOVE you!" Nora laughed, eyes latching to the boy squealing high above. Ren stammered, pacing out from under the cover of the colonnades, squinting at the sun as Jaymes thrashed and screamed. It had gathered quite the audience, judging by the people staring up at the sky in awe, Jaymes' Team gasping and clutching their heads in worry.

"Stop thrashing or he'll drop you!" Eryka sing-songed, chuckling.

"Do something!" Ren said, wide eyed. Eryka huffed.

"Kiddo, I'm doing you a favor. I'm doing my friend a favor. He made her sister cry. I'm making _him_ cry. S'no biggy."

"Please! He could get hurt!" Ren snapped. Eryka stared at Ren before sighing heavily, rolling her eyes. Placing curled finger and thumb on her lips, she whistled loudly. Dulcis squawked and released his talons, Jaymes falling freely to Remnant below. His screams wailed even louder and higher pitched. Ren's eyes widened as he gaped at Eryka. She smirked and shrugged, hugging her upper arms.

"Oops. He never was great with commands."

Jaymes fell at terminal velocity, thrashing as he tried at some basic survival instinct to slow his descent. With only mere feet before solid concrete and grass, a spinning glyph of white light manifested beneath him, stopping his decent suddenly. He panted, eyes fixed on the blades of grass flicking against his nose, before the glyph vanished and he dropped the last few inches with a thump, his chest heaving into the dirt.

Team JSPR were soon around him, coddling him as he shoved them off, windswept locks and an albeit dizzy look in his eyes. His hazel gaze snarled at the Vasilias girl. Eryka simply smirked and cocked her hip, arms crossed as her loyal Eagle landed on her shoulder. She just grinned wider as he gulped.

The crowds parted as Jaymes looked up at the clacking of heels, a lithe woman wrapped in a white military-esque coat, trailing behind her in the breeze. She sheathed her curved sword, offering her hand to him. He stared at the gloved fingers before gingerly placing his tan hand in hers. She hauled him to his feet, the frost haired woman staring him up and down. Her eyes were steely and hard.

"This is done. You leave my sister and her friends alone, and we leave you alone. Understand?" she snapped. Jaymes grumbled.

"I err, couldn't hear you there?" Eryka cupped her ear exaggeratedly. "But, it almost sounded like "Yes Ma'am, I'm sorry I'm an ass", didn't it Dulcis?" She looked to her Eagle as he let out a loud chorus of squawks. Jaymes gulped and nodded quickly.

"Y-Yes Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry...what?" Eryka held her hand out, open palmed as Dulcis hopped down her arm to stand in her hand, talons gently hooked around her fingers. Jaymes winced.

"I'm sorry I'm an...a-ass." He grit his teeth, before blushing at his embarrassment and walking away with his team, shoving through the crowds. "Get outta my way!" For the briefest of moments, the short and lithe, pig-tail haired girl of his team stayed behind, smirking at them with a look in her brown eyes. Eventually she turned and followed, not saying a single word.

The students who had gathered to watch soon dispersed, leaving Nora and Ren to sober and sigh, looking at their feet, until a pair of tall black boots filled their vision. Their eyes raked up the shapely form till they were staring into warm azure eyes.

"You okay there?" Eryka smiled, looking over her shoulder at the Ickford retreating with his tail between his legs, blushing madly at his massive embarrassment. "Don't mind him, I've met some little-dick nobodies in my time."

Nora giggled under her breath. Ren looked up at Eryka, eyes flitting nervously to the ferocious looking bird of prey on her shoulder. Eryka caught the teen's fidgeting magenta gaze and smiled.

"Dulcis. Meet..." Eryka's beaming smile soured. "I'm sorry, what're your names, sweethearts?"

"I'm Lie Ren. This is-"

"Nora Valkyrie!" Nora exclaimed eagerly. "Oh my gosh, an EAGLE! That is so cool!"

"Man, you're popular today, huh Dulcis?" Eryka looked into the black beady eyes of her loyal Eagle.

"Not every day you see an...err...Eagle, on school premises." Ren shrugged, smiling. Eryka huffed.

"Yeah, guess not." Eryka flit her eyes down to the duo, before lifting her azure gaze over their heads. "Uh oh, I'm in trouble." She sung, Nora giggling. Eryka sashayed around the two teens, arms outstretched to the incoming white haired woman. "Hey Winter!"

"Eryka Vasilias, that was incredibly reckless!" Winter snapped, hands on her hips, navy blue button shirt heaving with her angered breaths. Eryka simply grinned bashfully.

"Did ya miss me?" Eryka played cutesy, pouting with puppy dog eyes. Apparently it had no affect as Winter groaned loudly.

"Urgh! Honestly! What if I hadn't been there to cast that Glyph? A student would be dead, and you'd be held to blame!" Winter gestured to the blue haired girl.

"C'mon Winter, no harm no fowl. Besides, that weasel had it comin. He made your little sister cry. Forgive me for being overprotective of my honorary little sis." Eryka leaned over, palm cupped around her mouth to whisper. "Between you and me, Neppy totally has a major crush on your sis."

Winter massaged her brow. "The one time I'm here, not on business, and you're here causing mayhem." Winter rolled her eyes. Eryka looked genuinely hurt.

"Wait...A-Are you actually pissed at me? Cos I'm sorry, okay? I was ju-

"I'm only mad, because..." Winter paused, looking at Eryka's wide vivid blue eyes. "...Because you didn't let me know what you were going to do beforehand." Winter smirked. Eryka bit her lip and grinned. Winter smiled and rolled her eyes with a cross between a laugh and a sigh. "Come here, you."

Eryka chuckled, wrapping her arms around Winter, hugging her friend tight, while Dulcis leaped off her shoulder to slowly flap his descent down to the grass.

"Oh I've missed you, Winter." Eryka hummed.

"You too." Winter reeled out of the hug, standing straight, almost at attention, before clearing her throat. "But no more assaults on students, no matter...what they do."

"Let the kids solve it?" Eryka raised a brow, giving a loud exaggerated sigh. "Well where's the fun in that?!" She grinned. "Oh and by the by, you and I are so going to hit the town tonight."

"But-"

"Nope! You said it yourself, Winter. You're not here on work, so...yeah. Drinks, glug glug!" She mimicked downing a shot glass. "Set you up with that Qrow you like so much."

Winter blushed and shook her head, desperate to derail her friend. "W-Where is Weiss now?"

"Oh." Eryka sobered. "The poor sweetheart took off. I dunno where though." She looked at the orange haired girl. "Hey! Cray Cray chick, c'mere!"

Nora soon padded over, bright smile and matching vivid eyes.

"Hi!"

"Hey! So, listen, where'd Weiss go? Do you know?" Eryka bent over to be at eye level with the Valkyrie.

"Nope! No idea. Sorry. REN?!" she called loudly over her shoulder.

"Ah, I'm next to you, Nora." Ren winced, massaging his affected ear. A moment later, he relaxed his posture. "No. I don't know either. Although she did say she had to find Neptune?" Ren shrugged. "Does that help?"

"A bit." Eryka stood up beside Winter. "What d'ya say, Wints? Shall we go either cheer up our little siblings, or make em blush as red as tomatoes?"

"Well, as a professional adult..." Winter huffed, staring at Eryka as the Vasilias girl hung onto her every word. Winter sighed and walked away. "The latter."

"Oh atta girl!" Eryka laughed, clicking her tongue as she followed her, Dulcis flapping up onto her shoulder as she sauntered with the Schnee. "See you kids around! Nora and Ren, right?!"

Nora nodded excitedly "Yep! Nice to meet you..."

"ERYKA! ERYKA VASILIAS!" she called across the courtyard, before waving one final goodbye.

"Vas...Neptune's got a sister?!" Nora grinned. "This is too good!"

...

His legs hung off the edge of the concrete perch, grass billowing in the breeze a few feet beneath his soles. His eyes raked over the churning waves of vivid green, lapping tides of grass moving like the stormiest of seas. He sighed and took his goggles off his head, wincing at the straps plucking a few strands of light blue out of his scalp. He set his hands in his lap, eyes rummaging over the golden lenses of his goggles.

Voicelessly, a movement beside him. His blue eyes flit up to watch the blonde spiky mop drop to eye level, both their pairs of legs hanging off the step. Tall black shadowy lines raced over the courtyard walls, as the colonnade columns blocked the sun's beating rays. The Monkey Faunus sighed heavily, shrugging.

"I'm sorry, buddy."

Neptune looked up at Sun, his friend smiling back. The Vasilias boy gave a meek smile and looked back at his goggles.

"You _are_ cool, you know that, right?" Sun said, staring out over the courtyard, smiling at the Cat Faunus and her friends leaving the Cafeteria. "To me. To...a lot of people, I guess."

"Mmm." Neptune shrugged.

"But, you're cool when you're not trying to be, d-does that make sense?" Sun raised a brow.

"Huh?"

"Dude, you're surrounded by people that see you as an awesome guy! I-I'm not good with this...stuff...but, yeah, you...I'm proud to have you on my team, and as my best friend."

"Sun..."

"Don't mention it." Sun shrugged, clearing his throat and avoiding eye contact. "S'fine." Neptune smiled and looked at his goggles, before setting them back on his head with a sigh. "Why umm...seriously, why didn't you tell me you had a sister?" Sun asked, bending his leg to rest his arm across the knee. Neptune sighed heavily closing his eyes.

"Cos she's done so much cool stuff, cos she's always been popular, when I wasn't. I always felt like I was in her shadow, you know? I dunno, I guess I do try too hard sometimes, but...it's like today! She's here five minutes and the whole school is swarming around her, telling her how awesome she is. I guess I-

"You're jealous." Sun shrugged. Neptune frowned at the grass, before sighing in reluctant agreement.

"Yeah. I am." Neptune breathed out. "B-But who wouldn't be?! I was the goofy kid who had braces and spots, growing up watching my sister get through school like it's nothing, surrounded by friends and...I...I wanted that!" Neptune sniffed. "It all comes flooding back when she's here."

"Have you, you know, talked to her about it?" Sun shrugged, hugging his knees. Neptune shook his head. "Well, why not?"

"Because how can I? I don't want her to feel bad, cos it's not her fault. But Sun. Dude. I wanna be like her so bad! I want to be able to just...be that awesome without trying so hard!"

"Well you never seem to try hard around us?" Sun titled his head. Neptune sighed.

"I do though. Maybe not as much as around other people, but I still feel like I have to keep this...this...this mask on so people can't see that I'm actually this self conscious loser." Neptune hugged his knees, tanned forehead pressing into the solid cartilage caps through his jeans.

Sun sighed and gently pat his friends shoulder.

"Truth is, Neptune. You're not."

"Huh?" Neptune looked up. Sun shrugged.

"You're not a loser. Even when you drop this...this try hard "Cool" bull, you're an awesome guy that everybody likes!" Sun smiled, before sobering. " _I'm_ sorry, man. I guess I don't help with the "Be cool" all the time." Sun quoted with curled fingers.

"It's okay. I should have told you. Sorry I didn't." Neptune huffed. Sun shrugged once more.

"Ah, forget about it."

A moment of silence fell between them, before Neptune gave a dry laugh. Sun looked at him curiously. The blue haired boy looked at him. "Man. All these issues people are dealing with. Yang's injured. Pyrrha almost got killed. Blake got stabbed..." Sun solemnly looked at his fingers, sighing heavily as thoughts of the Cat Faunus washed over his mind. Neptune continued with a heaving breath. "...And I'm worrying about being self conscious. I mean, really sets it in perspective, right?"

"What?" Sun tilted his brow. Neptune quirked his lips into a humorless smirk.

"How much everyone sacrificed at the Tournament, you know? I mean, we...we helped, right?"

"Hell yeah, man! I mean, we got stuck in! Not to brag, but I took down quite a few of those Atlas Mechs." Sun grinned proudly, dusting off his knuckles on his coat. Neptune's eyes lit up.

"Yeah! Yeah, we did, didn't we? I mean man, I took out quite a few too! Y-You see that one Weiss took down? That was awesome!"

"What about the Grimm Blake took out?! That was wicked cool, dude!" Sun chuckled. They both paused, huffing and studying their hands. "So...you err, you like Weiss?"

Neptune paused, Sun on bated breath, as the blue haired boy sighed heavily in defeat. "Yeah. I do." A long moment past, before Neptune looked at Sun. "What are err...what are you and Blake now?"

"I..." Sun paused with a huff. "I dunno. I mean, one minute she's warm to me, the next..." he feigned shivering. "Brr, ice cold." Sun's diminishing smile regained brightness, to a blinding grin as he looked up over Neptune's head. "Speaking of ice...and cold..."

"Huh?" Neptune looked in Sun's direction. Her eyes were raw and strained red around the edges. She gave a small sniffle of her tiny button nose, scratching nervously at the scar on her cheek, before firming that strong Schnee upper lip and flicking her lopsided ponytail aside.

"Move it, Monkey boy." she frowned.

"Gladly, Ma'am!" Sun laughed, leaping off the step into the courtyard below. "See ya later dude!"

"Sun!" Neptune whined. Sun simply spun to walk backwards, thumbs held up and a shit-eating grin on his face. Neptune, simply sighed, looking at his knees.

"Is this seat taken?" Weiss managed. Neptune licked his lips and looked at her again, at the pleading in her eyes, the worry in her upward brows, the sadness on her lips. She was trying so hard, he had to throw her a line. Neptune slid over and pat the spot next to him, Weiss tugging the hem of her frilly skirt as she sat down next to him on the sun baked concrete, crossing her leg over the other and cupping her knee with both hands.

Awkward silence reigned for a minute, before Weiss leaned over and pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek, her cheeks aflame as she fidgeted. Neptune sat dumbstruck, rubbing the spot her lips had been.

"Just so you know, that even when you feel vulnerable and...the _stupid_ "cool" facade is down...I still...I always...c-c...care about you." She managed to say, the talk of our emotions always being a language Weiss was never fluent in. Neptune smiled and gingerly reached his hand over and took hers off her knee, softening the pliable flesh in his hand like warm dough. He threaded his fingers through hers and smiled, Weiss smiling back.

Leaning against a column, not far away, Eryka smiled proudly, crossing her arms and looking over at Winter, her own proud curl to her lips.

"Let them fight their own battles." Winter smiled, patting Eryka's shoulder. "And they'll win every time. Together."

"Yeah. You're right." The Vasilias girl beamed, turning and following Winter. "Celebratory drinks later?!"

"Urgh...fine."

"Yay!" Eryka cheered, blood leaving her face as both she and Winter stopped in their steps, Glynda Goodwitch tapping her foot, eyebrow raised. "Busted!"

"Winter. Pleasure to see you, and a shame too. This makes two occasions you've arrived at this school with quite the disruptive outcome." Goodwitch raised a brow over her glasses. Winter huffed, rolling her eyes as Eryka's grin grew wicked.

"What was the first time?" She sung into Winter's ear, enjoying the way she bat her away like a buzzing fly.

"Miss Schnee decided it was fitting, and professional to start a fight with Qrow Branwen."

"Don't tell her th-

" _GASP!_ Oh you two love birds!" Eryka placed her hands on her hips, her grin beaming pearly whites, a teasing gleam in her eyes. Dulcis on her shoulder squawked with a cocked head. "No, different love bird, sweetie." She said to the bird.

"Professor, I was merely stopping an incident today." Winter intersected.

"And protecting little siblings?" Eryka tilted her head. "What gives, Goodie? Why're bullies not getting punished?"

"Miss..." Glynda raised a brow.

"Vasilias."

"Full name, and I want your Huntress license, please." Goodwitch held her hand out. Eryka firmed her lip.

"Sapphire Eryka Vasilias. I hate Sapphire, so call me Eryka. I err...I don't have my Huntress ID. Soz, babe." Eryka shrugged. Goodwitch grit her teeth.

"You picked a student up with an Eagle, and dropped him from forty feet in the sky. I think you two should accompany me to my office. Immediately." Goodwitch turned, Winter frowning at her friend. Eryka shrugged.

"Oh well. We've gotten in bigger trouble for worse in the past."

"You are a nightmare." Winter massaged her temples. "Eryka, I'm a Specialist in the Atlesian Military's Special Operations Unit, I have to be professional! You're making me look bad."

"Cool. Well done. Wanna know what you were first?" Eryka walked up to her, a sudden fierce fire in her eyes. Winter rolled her eyes.

"I'll play along. What?"

"Weiss' big sister she looked up to. Still does. Maybe focus on being her big sister some time, not just a...army spec ops whatever. Why'd you think I'm here, Winter?"

Winter was silent, a guilty pool in her belly. She looked up at the Vasilias girl.

"I'm here to be a big sister. Oh...and my little brother who thinks I'm so perfect? Yeah, I'm not officially a Huntress either. Never graduated. Never told him I failed. Haven't got it in me to break the way he sees me, call me selfish if ya like. We're all flawed, Winter. Time to embrace your own flaws, and hell...just be a damn big sister for once." Eryka snapped, before turning and walking after Goodwitch, flicking her fingers up to the air, commanding Dulcis to take some time to explore the skies over Beacon.

Winter watched the Eagle leave Eryka's shoulder, letting her words settle in. She sighed and looked around the courtyard, back at Weiss and Neptune, her little sister resting her head on the boy's shoulder, hands locked together in between their legs.

Eryka was right. She'd missed out on so much with her sister. She'd come here out of work for a reason. To fix some damaged bridges, help out the overburdened Goodwitch, but most of all...help her healing sister. She cared so much about her sister, but the way she showed it, the way she taught her sister was that of almost military drill sergeant qualities. Right now Weiss wouldn't be able to handle being yelled at and smacked upside the head for small mistakes. She could teach her about mastering glyphs later, but right now...after all these children had been through, she just needed a big caring sister. Maybe they all did.

...

As midday lulled to late afternoon, Jaune allowed the cooling air to sooth his aches and pains, rubbing at a tender spot at his flank. He hissed on contact to the swollen and purple flesh beneath his hoodie.

"Urgh, that shower's gonna sting tonight." He grit his dentures, rolling his shoulder.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha winced in sympathy, stepping out of the combat hall alongside the aching Arc. "I didn't think Professor Goodwitch would be holding Partner sparring."

"Yeah...doesn't mean you have to go all out on me like a practice dummy. Think my IQ dropped to that _of_ a practice dummy actually." He rubbed his head. Pyrrha winced.

"I am really sorry, Jaune. I'm not used to that training sword."

"Wait, that's your excuse? What if you had Milo?! I-I'd be dead!" Jaune scoffed, Pyrrha biting her lip to suppress a laugh. "S'not funny!" He chuckled, his mirth betraying him as Pyrrha giggled adorably behind her palm. The two smiled and sighed contently, eyes locking for longer than they deemed appropriate. Jaune noticed this first, blushing and turning away, coughing into his fist.

"S-So, umm...Any plans this evening?" Pyrrha tried to stop the flow of blood to her rosy cheeks.

"Mmm? Oh I dunno. We could train again if you want." Jaune shrugged. Pyrrha smiled fondly.

"I'd like that. As long as you're sure I won't injure you too badly." She smirked. Jaune huffed.

"Oh yeah? That the game we're playing, huh?"

"Mmm Hmm! Definitely!" She grinned brightly.

"I bet I can beat you tonight." Jaune announced, Pyrrha's eyes widening at the challenge, something she was never one to either take lightly or walk away from.

"Oh? Jaune, I do believe that today's lesson favored me." She smugly smirked. Jaune simply grinned.

"Ah I was going easy on you. No, No, see I got you sussed. You said it yourself! That training sword you've gotta use for the time being, it's too heavy. You're used to swinging Milo, meaning your swings take longer and are harder to control! I got you right where I want you." he said lowly, grinning at her with a fire in his azure gaze. Pyrrha felt a warmth in her belly, and her cheeks flushed at his words. She gulped, pushing her heart back into it's cage.

"Well, I've never been one to back out of a challenge, but I think our sparring is about learning, not-

"Chicken." Jaune said. "Cluck-cluck-cluck!"

"Oh that's it, you are on, Jaune Arc!" Pyrrha said loudly to combat his taunting poultry impression. "Tonight. On the roof. We. Fight."

"Not too aggressively though." Jaune added, Pyrrha snorting. "W-What?"

"Nothing. I just find it funny how you're already backing out." She smirked wider. Jaune smiled and sighed contently. Pyrrha noticed his smile and offered her own, tilting her head with a bemused confusion.

"Everything okay, Jaune?"

"Yeah, Yeah. It is." He grinned, pacing alongside her as they headed back to their dorm room. Pyrrha bit her lip, her heart drumming as she tried to suppress the urge to start the heavily avoided conversation of their feelings. Where they were at emotionally after a week of avoiding the very idea of love and adoration for each other. But, with it finally just being the two of them, She found that fight even harder to battle, as her mouth opened, words teetering on the tip of her tongue.

"Jau-

"Hey guys!" Jaune beamed ahead, Nora and Ren pacing up to him, a stack of books under their arms. Nora flung her books up in the air, Ren performing an incredible feet of balance and agility to catch them all one by one on their way back down. Nora wrapped her arms around Pyrrha and Jaune in a crushing hug.

"Ooooh! Hey guys!"

"Hey!" Jaune rasped. "Too...tight..."

"Oops!" Nora giggled, letting them go, both breathing erratically. "How'd partners combat class go?"

"Pyrrha might have given me a concussion." Jaune shrugged, Pyrrha rolling her eyes playfully.

"I did not." She chuckled, slapping his arm as he giggled. Nora nipped at her lip, enjoying seeing these two almost back to their old selves. While they still had major hurdles to overcome, it was a definite step in the correct direction. Pyrrha had come a long way in her repairing, especially since the damage Ickford had caused.

" _GASP!_ Ickford!" Nora blurted upon realizing. Pyrrha and Jaune stopped giggling, looking at her with raised brows.

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing!" Nora teetered to and fro on her toes. Ren huffed and stepped over, dropping his and her books into Nora's hands. "Ooof! Hey!"

"Stay calm Jaune, but...Jaymes Ickford is still here. He wasn't expelled." Ren said gently, Jaune's eyes hardening to diamonds in his head.

"What?!" Jaune snapped, brows furrowed. Pyrrha's eyes were solemn, but she shrugged, gripping Jaune's paling fist.

"It's...It's okay. I'm sure if we leave him alone, he'll leave us alone-"

"Pyrrha, c'mon, that guy is gunning for you! He wants you to be punished for what happened, when it wasn't your fault!" Jaune choked. Pyrrha looked down with a frown.

"Wasn't it?"

"No, c'mon let's not go backwards, please!" Jaune held her arms lightly. "Please. Please, keep smiling!" He begged, pleaded, Pyrrha looking up at his heart warming compassion. She smiled brightly, Jaune sighing with relief.

"O-Okay, Jaune. Thank you." she hummed.

"That asshole comes within three feet of her, I'm gonna kill him." Jaune snarled, Pyrrha blushing at his overprotective nature. Nora threw all the books in the air again, Ren leaping to catch them all in a pile of stoic lotus and books on Grimm behavior.

"That reminds me, I made a friend today!"

"That reminds yo...who's your friend, Nora?" Jaune interrupted his train of thought, smiling. Ren stuck his head out of the pile of books.

"Eryka Vasilias. Nora thinks she's Neptune older sister." Ren mumbled.

"Uhhh duh?" Nora placed her hands on her hips. Jaune nodded, smiling to Pyrrha.

"Yeah, we met her too. She's great."

"I was allowed to hold her eagle." Pyrrha beamed. Nora's eyes bulged.

"Aww, wah?! No fair!" Nora pouted. Ren sat up, dusting himself off. "Ren! I wanna hold an eagle."

"I'm sure if Eryka's letting people hold it, she'll let you hold it sometime. Now come on, we need to get back to our room." Ren starting picking up books. Pyrrha helped, Jaune too, as JNPR soon made their way back home with idle chitchat.

What they never noticed, behind one of the pillars, was a purple haired boy grinning, taking notes in a notepad, pen scribbling across the parchment. Jaymes chuckled, sticking the pad in his back pocket.

"Oh I got you Pyrrha. I'm gonna dig up so much dirt on you, the way you fight, any cheating techniques you have, anything to get you in as much trouble as possible for what you did." Jaymes smirked, turning to the only other person with him. The short pig-tail haired girl of his team. He looked into her strawberry pink eyes, huffing.

"You don't say a lot, do you Rouge?"

The short girl smirked and shook her head, nodding towards the direction of their dorm room. Jaymes nodded, taking one last look at Pyrrha, before turning and following the chocolate brown eyed Rouge out of the courtyard.

"I'm gonna prove it to you Dad. I'm not gonna be as good as you. I'm gonna be better." Jaymes smirked.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey! So yeah, I know, not my best work, but this chapter was a bitch to write. Writers block made it really difficult. Anyways, I really hope you liked Eryka, I love her character, really pleased with how she turned out. Let me know in the reviews if you liked her. I didn't want her to be a Mary Sue, I wanted her to have flaws and stuff. I hope you like her.**

 **I know she's in this chapter a lot, but I wanted to introduce her. She won't be in the rest of the story anywhere near as much. Well, all depends on what you thought of her, not being funny but I wasn't expecting Jaymes Ickford to last as long as he has in this story, but your reviews convinced me to write this chapter and keep him in it! You all made such good points on him being the "Villain of the week" and you were right, so thanks for the critique!**

 **Next chapter should focus on Yang, and Blake, not to mention a well needed talk with Arkos. Let me know if you want to see shenanigans of Eryka dragging Winter into being troublesome older sisters!**

 **See you guys next time, love ya! - Dave**


	4. Sunny Little Dragon

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Ready for another chapter? Thank you for all of your reviews, I really appreciate the kind words. Didn't get much feedback on Eryka, which makes me either nervous, or glad that apparently everyone accepts her haha. So anyways, here's the next chapter! A ball game in the sun, a long overdue conversation between Pyrrha and Ruby, and a sleepover to cheer up our favorite Sunny Little Dragon! Enjoy guys! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Four: Sunny Little Dragon**

 **...**

"Hey, Jaune! Throw it to meee!" Ruby squealed excitedly, the sweet aroma of freshly cut grass strong in her nostrils. She stepped backwards, arms extended over her head, hands wide open to cup the beating sun above. Jaune grinned, reeling his arm back, football firmly gripped between his fingers.

"Ready, Rubes?!" He shouted admix a chuckle.

"Yeah!" Ruby yelled from far across the open expanse of short stubbly grass. Jaune's grin only widened.

"Go get it!" Jaune channeled an extra bout of aura into his arm, and launched the ball across the field. As the ball hurtled over the blank blue sky, eclipsing the sun, Ruby grinned and shot off in a flurry of rose petals, appearing at just the right spot to have the leather ball land squarely in her pale palms. With a beaming smile, the Rose held the ball up over her head.

"Yay! Again!" With a dash of red petals, she was before Jaune, startling the teen. "C'mon Jaune!"

"Okay, okay, Crater face." Jaune grinned, ruffling her hair, Ruby grumbling at her nickname. "Hey, if I've gotta put up with Yang calling me "Vomit boy" all weekend, let me have that one."

"Okay." She chuckled, looking at the orange haired Valkyrie bouncing in the distance.

"Jaune! C'moooon!" Nora yelled. Jaune laughed, rolling his shoulder. Ruby raised her eyebrow with a bemused smirk.

"Tired, are we?" Ruby giggled. Jaune shrugged, chuckling under his breath.

"Hey, I was never a sporty kid. Only time I went outside was to go to school or dragged out by my sisters." He grinned at the memories. Ruby smiled, happy to learn more about Jaune. He always mentioned his family, but never in detail. Just short snippets of memories.

"What did you do? Playing with your sisters I mean." Ruby shrugged, stepping back as Nora closed the distance, the three of them easily forming a triangle to throw the ball between them, admix gentle conversation. Jaune shrugged, overarm throwing the ball to Nora, who easily caught it, grinning widely.

"Eh, you know. Sibling stuff. Play with a ball, build snowmen, shove the smallest in a tire and roll it down a hill. Guess who always ended up in the tire?" Jaune rolled his eyes, thumbs pointing to his chest. "This guy."

Ruby smiled and caught the ball, chuckling under her breath at her own wash of memories. She threw the ball to Jaune. "Me and Yang, we used to play hide and seek all the time! Sometimes she'd forget to look for me. I'd try and cut her hair for it." Ruby grinned as Nora snorted.

"How far'd ya get?" Nora raised an eyebrow, catching the ball with both her cupped hands. Ruby shrunk her head into her neck, an effacing wince on her face.

"I cut a lock off once." the Rose winced. The other two gasped, Nora almost dropping the ball, fumbling to keep it off the floor. Jaune gaped.

"She must'a tried to kill you!" Jaune scoffed. Ruby laughed meekly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeeeaaah...Hiding behind Dad's leg worked...mostly." She shrugged, catching the ball as Nora threw it. Nora's grin devolved to a sad smile.

"I never had sisters. Bet it would'a been cool, having an older sibling." the usually chipper girl sighed heavily.

"I'll be your older brother, Nora. Does that count?" Jaune gave a smile, to which Nora beamed brightly.

"Yeah...it does. Thanks Jaune!"

"I guess I'm a...little sister." Ruby shrugged, chucking the ball to Jaune, the distracted boy fumbling to catch it as it rebounded off his chest. Nora cackled.

"Yay! I'm a big sis!" Nora bounced eagerly. Ruby laughed adoringly at her friends as Jaune wheezed, his chest aching, wind knocked out of him. Jaune looked at Ruby, beaming widely as he regained his breath.

"Ready Rubes? Ooh! Hey, let's see if we can reach fifty passes without dropping it!" Jaune maniacally smirked, Nora nodding rapidly on the spot. Ruby let her twinkle widen, silver eyes scanning the whole field around them. Then the ball hit her squarely in the chest, startling the young girl. The ball fell to the floor. "Err...good start Rubes." Jaune sneered.

Ruby shook her head and rubbed the ache at the tingling skin of her collarbones. "Sorry, just thinkin."

"About?" Nora picked up the ball, trying to spin it on her finger to no success. Ruby giggled at her, huffing to sober up from her bout of laughter.

"Just...this. Being _here_ , you know?" Ruby gestured to all that surrounded her. Jaune and Nora shared a glance, albeit a short one as the copper haired girl went back to profusely trying to spin the ball atop her fingertip.

"This field?" Jaune looked around, Ruby scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"No ya doof!" She grabbed his head with her hands and forcefully turned his head with a crack to face Beacon. "Beacon!" The quirky, chipper Rose calmed, eyes felling. "That night, I really thought the school was gonna fall, ya know? I thought we were gonna lose all this, but just look around, Jaune." Ruby beamed, looking at team CFVY all laying in the shade of a maple tree, hands behind their heads in a circle chatting as only family could. Jaune noticed and smiled, looking at CRDL playing baseball with SSSN, a loud metallic bang signalling the hit of ball on bat, sending the stitched ball soaring into the clear blue abyss above.

"Yeah. Yeah, I get what you're saying Rubes. Being back here is...well, it's perfect. I really feel at home, really feel like we've got all the time in the world." Jaune grinned, sitting then laying back on the bushy grass with a content hum, arms behind his head, staring up at the consistently deep blue sky above. "This is great."

"Yeah it is!" Nora threw herself onto her leader, Jaune groaning within a wheezy laugh. She rolled off the laughing teen to giggle beside him in the grass.

"Yeah. My thoughts exactly." Ruby sang, laying down beside him, mimicking his pose. "I'd say let's guess the shapes of the clouds, but...it's such a clear sky today."

"Yeah. Kinda kills that plan dead, huh?" Jaune chuckled, nestling more comfortably into the floor. He crossed his leg over his other knee, humming a tune to himself. Ruby listened for a moment, before turning her face in the grass to face him.

"What song's that?"

"Hmm? Oh I dunno. Just a tune that Pyrrha hums all the time. She says it's a song that's really important to her. Dunno what it is though for the life of me." Jaune shrugged, humming again.

"Mmm. Sounds oddly familiar." Ruby huffed, turning to look at the sky again. Nora just grinned like a Cheshire cat to the sky.

"I know what it is." Nora quietly sung to herself, cackling almost silently.

"Ruby!"

"Ahh!" The aforementioned girl sat bolt upright, startled by the white haired teammate of hers blocking her view of the sky sharply. Weiss raised a plucked brow at the teen, before scanning her Celeste eyes over to content Jaune and legs-kicking-at-the-air Nora.

"Weiss? What's up?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, hands in her lap, wringing the hem of her frilly black skirt. Weiss let the smallest of smiles grace her face at her partner's concern.

"Not much, I can't find my scroll, do you know where it is?" Weiss asked, hands on her hips. Ruby shrugged.

"Night stand?"

"Nope." Weiss shook her head, Ruby tapping her chin to think of somewhere else it could be hiding. With a bright burst of silver in her eyes, Ruby snapped her fingers in a eureka moment.

"Blake's nightstand?"

"Why would it...no."

"..."

"..."

"...My nightstand?"

"Ruby!" Weiss huffed. "Jaune? Have you seen my scroll at all?" the Schnee turned to face the Arc as he opened one eye to look up at her.

"Fraid not. How'd you - of all people - lose your scroll? All you do is sit and text on that thing." Jaune grinned, quickly flinching in on himself as Weiss rolled her eyes and pressed her heel onto his stomach, the teen laughing as he curled up instinctively around her foot.

"Very funny, but I will have you know I do not, thank you very much." Weiss frowned, crossing her arms.

"Weiss, reeeelaaaax." Nora sighed contently, smiling with closed eyes as she lay back into the grass. Weiss huffed at the trio of friends laying in the grass.

"So, neither of you have seen my scroll?" Weiss huffed loudly, eyeing Jaune and Ruby specifically.

"Nope." They said in unison, not opening a single eye between them.

"Urgh, useless! Nora, hav-"

"Head's up!" Sun yelled, too late.

 _KONK!_

Weiss fell back into the grass, stars spinning around her head as the baseball came to rest in the soft grass beside her. Jaune and Ruby sat bolt upright, crowding over the dazed Schnee.

"Weiss, you okay?" Jaune asked, unable to see the chirping birds and stars Weiss could, currently orbiting her head. "Weiss?"

"But I don't wanna go to school today, ma! I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you!" Weiss slurred, tongue hanging out her mouth, her eyes still rolling around in their sockets like washing machines. She shook her head and rubbed it, grumbling. "Ow."

"Oops. Sorry." Cardin rubbed the back of his head, setting the baseball bat down and helping Jaune sit Weiss up. "I forget I gotta mean swing."

"Yeah, I've often been on the receiving end of it." Jaune chuckled, Cardin scoffing. The bigger teen, who everyone seemed to note was on a redemption campaign since returning to Beacon, went to open his mouth, some form of words or apology teetering at the tip of his tongue. Jaune held his hand up, smiling. "In the past."

They turned back to Weiss as the dazed Schnee rubbed the lump on her head. She frowned and slurred.

"I want some ice...for my head!" She hiccuped, Nora giggling and poking the lump on her head, Weiss swatting her hand away.

"Uhh, yeah...can do." Cardin stood up, huffing as he walked off towards the school. Jaune bit his lip, but let the words tumble out, even as he knew he should stop them.

"...I mean...you're the ice queen and all..."

"Jaune...I swear to-"

"Okay, okay." Jaune surrender, turning to sit back on the grass as SSSN raced over. Neptune's eyes were filled with worry, doting over Weiss.

"Weiss! You okay?"

"Do I look okay?!" the Schnee snapped, rubbing the lump on her scalp. "Seriously, do I look okay? How bad is it?" Weiss hissed as Nora once again "booped" the bump on her head. "Ow!"

"Err..."

"Just say yes, dude." Scarlet shrugged, gulping at Weiss' hard stare. "I-I mean don't do that, that's...that's crazy."

"What's crazy?" Pyrrha asked, smiling brightly as she and Blake padded over, school uniforms locked up in their stuffy dorm rooms on such a hot day, instead wearing off the shoulder baggy tops and shorts. Jaune marveled secretly at all of Pyrrha's wonderful porcelain flesh on show, Sun doing the same to Blake - not so secretly. Sage quickly scooped Sun's bottom jaw off the floor.

"We might have given Weiss a concussion." Scarlet shrugged. "And by us, I mean Cardin." the red head said to the red head. Pyrrha gasped, kneeling in the grass beside her friend.

"Weiss, are you okay?"

"Peachy." The Schnee deadpanned, her hand pulling tufts of grass out of the earth. Pyrrha doted over her, while Blake sat down on her own, flicking open her book, smiling as the sun's rays warmly lapped at her bare thighs and legs. Ruby looked up to the sky at the chirping of a bird, beaming at the huge Eagle casting monolithic shadows as he circled overhead, occasionally blocking the sun. She grinned and looked back around the field, her silver eyes widening at the woman walking towards them.

"Err, Weiss?"

"What Ruby, my head hurts-"

"Weiss? What's happened now?" Winter asked, crossing her arms. Everyone raised eyebrows at the military woman. She wasn't - for the first time ever to them - wearing her military garbs, but instead a simple pale blue tee and a pair of white shorts. Her hair was still tied in it's customary bun, but a few wavy white locks hung down either side of her face. Weiss blinked and looked up at her sister, squinting at the halo of bright sun around Winter's head.

"Are you okay?" Winter softened, crouching beside her sister. Weiss nodded, blinking out of sync. Winter frowned and looked with steely hardness at the other teens. "What. Happened?"

Sun gulped. "Err...

"He konked her on the head!" Scarlet yelled, pointing at the returning leader of CRDL. Cardin offered the ice pack, Weiss sighing as it touched her head. Winter simply removed his hand and replaced it with her own.

"Keep pressure on it, you boob." Winter huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm trying." Weiss mumbled, Winter letting a small smirk grace her face.

"Are we going to have this conversation again?" the older Schnee chuckled lightly as Weiss gulped and shook her head, pressing the ice pack to her wound. "Are you okay?" Winter asked softly. Weiss smiled lightly.

"Yeah."

"Good. Now-"

"I don't think I've seen you in casual clothes since you were my age." Weiss raised an eyebrow. Winter's expression sobered, eyes downcast.

"Yes, well. That's mainly my fault. For not seeing you as often as I'd like. No, I decided to take some well earned- and saved up - time off. It's nice...besides, Professor Goodwitch needs all the help she can get. In fact, I'll be running combat classes for the next month." Winter held her hands behind her back, chin high.

"You're here for a month?" Weiss' expression lit up, her smile a megawatt gleam. Winter smiled back.

"I am. So, make sure you bring your absolute best to training next week. Or, I'll have to see if Father's receptionist offer is still open." She smirked, Weiss frowning.

"I will, I always do." Weiss held her chin high, as only a Schnee could. Winter smiled proudly.

"Excellent. You and I will be practicing Glyphs while I'm here too." Winter added, clearing her throat and standing ramrod straight, the military backbone in her body still tightly wound to a working environment. "Oh-Eight-Hundred hours on Monday morning. Agreed?"

Weiss nodded, smiling as Neptune pressed the ice pack softly against her scalp. Winter gave a curt nod and gestured to the school behind them.

"Very well. Weiss, keep pressure on that pack and alternate between hot and cold. And as for her friends...stop knocking her over the head, please." Winter huffed, turning and almost military marching away, earning a wolf whistle from Russel Thrush, who got immediately dive bombed by Dulcis the Eagle.

"Ah! It's going for my eyes!" He cried in a flurry of snapping beak and feathers.

Cardin scoffed and shook his head, getting up and picking up the baseball bat and ball. "You err...you gonna be okay?" he coughed into his fist. Weiss frowned at him. "I'll err...take that as my signal to leave then. Sorry again."

"He's getting better, huh?" Nora shrugged, hugging her knees. Weiss scoffed.

"Uh, he almost killed me, you dunce!" Weiss snapped, Nora grinning at the reaction she'd sought to elicit. Jaune sat back down in the grass, without even realizing he'd perched beside Pyrrha. He looked down out of the corner of his eye, gaze raking over her long pale legs, powerful thighs flexing lightly as she straightened them. Jaune gulped and looked away, shaking his head.

"So uhh, how was your morning, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, Pyrrha looking up at him with a fond, beautiful smile. He swallowed thickly at her sparkling eyes, her beaming lips, her porcelain curves, all barely hidden by the baggy crimson top and beige short shorts. _Keep it together! Ahh, I'm losin it!_

"It was...less than eventful." Pyrrha chuckled weakly. "Blake and I got some studying done in the library for Oobleck's class. You?"

"Heh, well hey at least you did something academic. We had breakfast then played outside with a ball all morning." Jaune rubbed his face up and down. Pyrrha bit her lip and nudged him with her elbow playfully.

"I know which one I'd rather do."

"We can play again in a bit if you'd like." Jaune smiled, Pyrrha beaming back.

"I'd like that. As long as I'm on your team." She longed for him, ached for him, leaning in without realizing, Jaune mirroring her thoughts. Then his mind raced to darker thoughts, thoughts he hadn't had since midnight, waking up in a cold sweat, flicking on his lamp in a dazed panic to check she was in her bed, asleep and well. He tore himself away with a huff, staring at the others with a fake smile on his features. Pyrrha sighed, leaning back onto her rear and hugging her pale knees, closing her eyes and letting the sun's rays warm her skin, if Jaune's embrace wouldn't.

Sun sat beside Blake, grinning at her. She tried to focus on her book, tried so very hard to read the words on the paper, but unable to shake the eyes of Sun Wukong over the lip of the book. After rereading the same line five times she sighed and dropped it into her lap.

"What is it, Sun?"

"Nothin. You just look...really...c-cute today, is all." He rubbed his head, blushing. Blake smiled and her Cat ears perked up.

"Umm...thanks." Blake smiled, looking at her book, hiding her face behind it. Sun nodded, wringing his lip between his teeth, an almost awkward silence foaming between them.

"Heads up!

 _KONK!_

"Dude, ow!" Sun yelled, clutching his shoulder as the baseball rolled to a stop at his feet, Blake's golden eyes snapping up in instinctive worry, immediately calming down at realizing it wasn't life threatening.

"REN!" Nora yelled, leaping up and tacking the incoming teen into the grass. He chuckled amidst a groan as his back met the earth, wrapped snugly in the Valkyrie's arms. "Where ya been?!"

"Talking to Professor Goodwitch." he wheezed, trying to wriggle out of her tight grip. Then the Valkyrie's eyes popped wide. She sat up, nose to nose with him, her orange bangs shielding her eyes.

"Why?"

"I...Something doesn't feel right." Ren said, Nora sobering and letting him up. Ren dusted himself off and huffed. Nora raised a brow, picking a twig out of his hair, concern swimming in her turquoise gaze. Ren looked over his shoulder at Ickford and his team, all walking along the perimeter of the field, Jaymes smirking at them. "He's walking around like he's invincible all of a sudden. One minute he's expelled, then a week later he's back like nothing happened." Ren huffed, thumb swiping under his left eye.

Nora nodded, frowning at the obnoxious teen and his team across the field. "Yeah, fishy doesn't begin to describe it." Nora grumbled.

"Fish?" Blake snapped her head up over her book. "I want all the fish."

Nora chuckled at her, looking back at Ren, sobering. "What did Goodwitch say?"

"Said she couldn't disclose that information, asked if I had anymore questions and if not, to leave." Ren shrugged, raking a hand through his black mane. Something definitely wasn't right...

...

Winter marched her path down the halls of the dormitories, navigating the maze of corridors until she entered the Visitor's wing. She was being housed in one of the Suites saved for visiting family members or live-in teachers. She stood before the door to her room, pulling her scroll out of her back pocket and swiping the device over the scanner, until the light shone red to green. The lock undone and she opened the door, stepping in and throwing her scroll onto her adjacent bed. Scrubbing her face up and down she padded over to the large rectangular mirror on the wall and observed her reflection, eyes snapping to the other bed in her shared Suite. Winter frowned.

"Eryka, it is almost mid day, why are you still in bed?"

"Err, cos I'm tired? Duh?" Came the muffled reply from the lump under the sheets and messy blue hair spread over her pillow. Winter huffed and clenched her fists, before blowing out a calming breath, something a Yoga and martial arts specialist taught her in Mistral to combat her rising blood pressure. Winter knew what her problem was, it was her obsession with everything being done right. Life in the military had taken her Schnee family inherited overbearing nature and supercharged it.

For example, everyone had to be up and dressed by six thirty on the dot, bed's made to crisp perfection. It wasn't a nuisance for her to wake up that earlier, it was just the way life was to her. Add Military training and expectations to that mix, and you ended up with blood boiling Winter Schnee, who wanted to pull her hair out at the fact Eryka was still in bed, her shoes thrown across the room and her clothes dumped in the hamper - Winter would assume on purpose - to overhang and pool on the floor.

Winter's eye twitched if the pencils on her desk were out of alignment. To have to share a room with the most laid back, relaxed, messy woman on campus almost gave her an aneurysm there and then. Winter took two long, deep breaths, before forcing a very plastic smile onto her features.

"Eryka..." She said in a very insincere high pitched tone. "...-It's almost noon...maybe you should get up now, hmm?" Winter's voice squeaked. The response she got was a ruffling of sheets, followed by a hand poking out from the white bedding, middle finger waving to the Schnee.

"Bite me, Wints." groggy Eryka grumbled. Winter's eye twitched, marching over to the bed and flipping the mattress over, Eryka yelping as she suddenly found herself face down in carpet. "Okay...maybe breakfast does sound good."

 _SLAP!_

"Ow! Hey!"

"IT'S NOON, YOU BOOB!" Winter yelled, echoing across the halls of Beacon.

...

RWB and JNPR sat at their usual table, smiles on their faces as idle chit chat rebounded between each of them. Ruby, a megawatt beam on her face, laid out her plan for the weekend.

"Okay! So we're all sleeping over tonight, yeah?"

"Seems like it. No objections?" Jaune looked around, met with smiling heads shaking right to left. "Yeah, we're in, Rubes."

"Yay! Sweet, oh this is gonna rock! We're gonna cheer Yang up so much I know it..." Ruby's smile wilted slightly. "...I hope so, anyway."

"Don't worry, Ruby. We'll drop as many pun set ups as possible, she won't be able to resist." Jaune smiled, Nora bouncing in her seat, buzzing.

"Ooooh! I can't wait, Renny! A sleepover! A real sleepover with friends, and candy, and stories, and-" Ren placed a finger on her lips, silencing the Valkyrie, his own lips quirked into a bemused smile.

"I'm excited too, Nora." he said in his usual calm and stoic tone, quivered ever so lightly by a breathy chuckle. Nora beamed before returning to wolfing down her lunch. Jaune however huffed, looking at his bowl of soup. His eyes flit with jealousy at Blake's Tuna steak, Pyrrha's ham sandwich, even Weiss' salad looked more appetizing than usual.

"What er, what time are we leaving?" Blake asked nervously, swallowing her bite of flaky Tuna while wringing her fingers. Her heart was hammering like war drums at the idea of seeing Yang. The last time she saw her it was in a puddle of blood, her's and Yang's swirling and mixing vivid reds. She'd bandaged her slippery stump, beads of hot ruby red claret staining her fingers. Blake whimpered under her breath at the horrible memory of cradling Yang's head in her lap as they waited for the airship, as the CCT tower erupted with a bright white light.

She reached under the table to touch her fingers to the scar on her stomach, tracing the hard bumps of healed white flesh. She bit her lip and let her shirt drop back down to cover the wound on her toned stomach.

"After dinner." Ruby shrugged, eyes studying Blake's pained expression, but decided it better to ignore it for now. "Bout half six?"

"Sweet." Jaune gave a firm nod, before picking up his spoon. "Why did I get soup again?" He huffed, looking back up at the front of the cafeteria. "They had ham sandwiches."

"Mmm!" Pyrrha swallowed a mouthful. "Here, you can have my other half. I don't mind."

"Oh, well...th-thanks Pyrrha." Jaune smiled, reaching over and accepting it. Pyrrha smiled at him and he beamed too, before they once again blushed and looked elsewhere.

"Urgh, these two." Weiss grumbled into her palm, fingers tensed and paling as she raked nails down her brow.

As they handed their empty trays back in at the front of the hall, the seven friends began to walk back to their respective dorms. Jaune caught up with Blake, talking with her about a book he was reading that she might like. Weiss, after finally finding her scroll on her nightstand - even though she was certain it wasn't there - was texting someone intently. Nora leaped up onto Ren's back a′la piggy back, giggling into his neck as he rolled his eyes with a smirk. The group all moved through the halls of the Academy, leaving Ruby to walk besides Pyrrha. The two walked in an awkward silence as a heavy weight seemed to drag the very air around them.

Ruby bit her lip and looked up at the warrior goddess, before flitting her eyes to the others walking ahead. With newfound bravery, and a need to spill what was on her mind, she grabbed Pyrrha's pale arm, startling her. Emeralds reflected silver, confusion knitting her brow.

"Ruby? Wh-What-

"We umm...c-can we talk?" Ruby asked gingerly. Pyrrha nodded and took a step to the side of the hallway, letting other students file out of the hall. She crossed her arms under her chest.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked softly. Ruby sighed and swirled a hand in the air around her head.

"We umm...we've managed to tip toe around each other since we got back to school, haven't we?" Ruby winced. Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip, nodding to her shoes.

"We have."

"I just...I wanted to talk abou-

"Penny." Pyrrha nodded sadly. "Ruby...I-I'm so, so, sorry." emerald eyes watered slightly as she looked deep into her wide silver pearls. Ruby softened her gaze and sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, Pyrrha. It wasn't you." Ruby muttered, rubbing her arm as she shuffled her boot into the carpet. "I don't blame you. I don't. Pinky promise." Ruby smiled, holding out her smallest finger to the taller woman. Pyrrha smiled warmly and chuckled minutely, lifting her own to loop around the Rose's little stem.

"Thank you, Ruby. I...I still feel so much guilt over what happened. I-It was still me who did it, after all."

"With your body? Yeah. But not this." Ruby tapped the side of her head. "You had no intent in here. You were...tricked." Ruby sighed heavily, looking downcast. "We all were."

"Mmm. After all that, after being friendly to that Emerald girl and Mercury boy...they were helping Cinder." Pyrrha spat with a frown.

"Ow." Ruby winced, as Pyrrha's finger tightened around hers.

"Oops! I'm sorry!" Pyrrha let go. Ruby shrugged, chuckling.

"S'okay. No, I umm...I wanted to talk about what happened...up in the tower." Ruby bashfully rubbed her arm, stepping aside a little more to let a team of students move past. Pyrrha's eyes widened. Of course she wanted to talk about that.

"Your eyes." Pyrrha muttered, Ruby nodding.

"Yep." the wilted Rose popped the "P".

"Did...D-Did it hurt?" Pyrrha asked. "I'm sorry, I'm just...unsure what to ask."

"I...dunno. I felt like I blacked out, y'know?" Ruby bobbed her shoulders. "I just remember seeing you about to...b-be killed and I...I just snapped."

"Mmm...W-Why did seeing me trigger it? I always assumed you were closer to Penny than me." Pyrrha asked. Ruby blinked at her, then down to her feet.

"Because you're my friend, Pyrrha. And...you don't realize how important you are to everybody." Ruby said softly. Pyrrha smiled at her and blushed.

"Oh...w-well, that's..."

"I'm sorry I didn't get there earlier." Ruby muttered. Pyrrha's emerald gaze exploded wide on her.

"W-Why?"

"Because you got shot in the ankle. How is it?"

"Better. Aura's a great thing." Pyrrha chuckled lightly, rolling her heel. "But, honestly Ruby...I got to live, because of you. You saved me...I-I..." Pyrrha looked down sadly. "I don't think I've even thanked you for that yet. I'm sorry. In any case...my life, I owe to you."

"I'm just glad you're here. I...I'd miss you so much." Ruby hugged the Invincible Girl. Pyrrha slowly softened at the contact and hugged her back gently.

"Thank you so much, Ruby Rose." Pyrrha muffled into her raven black hair.

"Don't mention it." Ruby beamed, reeling out of the hug. "Oh! Hey, let's seal this new sweet friendship with a handshake!" Ruby held up her hand. Pyrrha tilted her head with a bemused smirk.

"Weeeerrrre...we not friends before?"

"Oh! Yeah! Course! B-But, now we're like...better friends!" Ruby exclaimed brightly. "Hold out your hand!"

Pyrrha chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes, holding out her hand. "Sooo what makes this handshake different?"

"Yang taught me, we did it when we were little!" Ruby looked at her hand and gargled, before spitting a wad of saliva into her palm, offering it to Pyrrha. "Now you!"

"Th-That is..." Pyrrha grimaced, but saw how happy Ruby was. She sighed and gargled, blushing, until her mouth had a wad of spit. She tilted her head over Ruby's hand.

"Your own hand!" Ruby stepped back. "Gross dude!"

"Oh, that's gross?" Pyrrha scoffed. She huffed and spat into her own palm, repulsed. "Eww."

"Now, shake!" Ruby held out her hand. Pyrrha winced and slapped her wet hand into Ruby's, shaking up and down. "Yeah!

"Y-yes...this is...lovely." Pyrrha lied, separating their hands. She looked at her sticky wet hand. "I umm...may need a towel."

"Yeah...Heh...didn't think this through." Ruby looked around. The Rose looked down at her skirt.

"I know what you're going to do...and don't." Pyrrha chuckled, holding her hand out like it was a roaring flame, keeping it as far from her body as possible. "We'll wash up in my Dorm-"

"Hey I wondered where you two wen-

 _SQUISH!_

Pyrrha's saliva drenched hand pressed into Weiss' forehead, the Heiress gasping and raised her hands to fan her face.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, what is that and why is it wet?!" Weiss cried.

"I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha pulled her hand away, wincing at the wet hand print on her brow.

"Well? What is it?!" Weiss frowned, still repulsed. Ruby looked at her own hand and hid it behind her back.

"Spit." Ruby mumbled under her breath.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss shuddered. "Eww...EWW!" The Schnee screamed and took off running. "I'm gonna hurl!"

Pyrrha winced and looked at grinning Ruby.

"Funny." Ruby chuckled, Pyrrha biting her lip to hide her grin.

...

Eventually the day came to a close, and as the two teams of RWB and JNPR finished their dinners, they returned to their respected dorms and gathered a few supplies for a fun weekend. Their goal? To cheer Yang Xiao Long up. The poor girl had suffered a horrific injury, and in such was stuck at home, and incredibly miserable. She needed her friends, whether she admitted it or not. So that's what they'd do, go home with Ruby and be there, even if it took all weekend.

Ren tucked a sleeping bag into his bag, followed by a handful of sundries. Nora did the same, reaching for her plushy sloth on her bed. Ren huffed.

"Nora. Can't Captain snuggle bubble stay here?" Ren asked. The look Nora shot at him said otherwise. Her eyes watered and she hugged the sloth tightly. "Never mind."

"Damn right never mind." Nora mumbled, tucking the sloth into her backpack. The orange haired girl looked up at Jaune, as he pushed his own sleeping bag into his duffel bag. "Hey, Jauney?!"

"Yes Nora?" Jaune chuckled at her always cheerfulness.

"I'm a bit...nervous about this. Seeing Yang again is...well...I-I dunno, just-"

"We feel the exact same way, Nora. She lost her arm, and that's gonna be a hard thing to get used to. But, what's hard for us is a thousand times harder for her. We just gotta be there." Jaune squeezed her shoulder. "Whether the hard head wants us there or not."

"She'll cheer up when she sees us all, I'm sure of it." Pyrrha added as she threw Jaune his toothbrush from the bathroom doorway. He caught it, murmuring thanks, before tucking it in his bag. "Jaune, I wanted to take my pillow but I don't have any room in my bag, can I please put it in yours, i-if there's room of course!" Pyrrha stammered nervously.

"Yeah, course. Pass it here." he held his hand out. Pyrrha smiled and grabbed it, walking over to give it to him. Instead she bent down to place it in his bag, their faces very close together. They both looked up into one another's eyes, noses almost touching. Jaune breathed out, hot on her lips, and Pyrrha swallowed. She closed her eyes, as did he and closed the distance without thinking, until he grit his teeth and tore himself away, Pyrrha sighing and nodding to herself, standing up straight to flatten out her skirt.

"I'm umm...just going to get changed." Pyrrha exhaled loudly, grabbing a handful of clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. Ren and Nora huffed as soon as the door locked, magenta and turquoise eyes locking on Jaune.

"What're you two doing?" Nora raised her brow.

"Not talking about it." Jaune shook his head. "Tired of talking about it."

"Okay." Ren nodded, Nora biting her lip with a sigh. "So...it will be good to see Yang again. Gods know it's been different without her."

"I miss her puns, and I never thought I'd say that!" Nora exclaimed in her usual loud and exaggerated voice. Ren nodded somberly, looking up at Jaune as he worried his lip with his teeth, flexing his fingers in thought, eyes darting to the bathroom door and then back to his lap.

"Jaune..."

"Mmm?"

"You and Pyrrha. You need some time to yourselves. To just...talk. We'll be at Taiyang's all weekend. I think that you and Pyrrha should take an evening to go into Patch's town square. Just the two of you. Talk."

"Ren I appreciate the thought, but-

Ren stood up and paced up to him, eyes flaming with magenta anger. He shoved a handful of Jaune's sundries into his chest, Jaune dropping his bag to catch them all.

"Talk." He snapped, pacing back over to Nora. Jaune sighed and went to stick the items in his bag. As soon as he unzipped the bag and bent down to place everything in there around Pyrrha's pillow, her scent wafted up off of the plushy fabric. His heart ached at the smell and he quickly shut the bag, groaning into his hand. Ren was right. They needed to talk. Find out where they stood, and more importantly what they definitely both wanted.

The bathroom door opened and Pyrrha stepped out, wearing figure hugging black jeans, knee high lace up boots, and a baby blue off the shoulder top, that clung to her buxom chest and then hung loosely around the rest of her frame. She pulled on a warm beige suede jacket and tied the belt around the middle, sighing contently.

"Are we all ready to go?" she asked, picking up her bag.

"I think so, right guys?" Jaune smiled as Ren and Nora stood up. Everyone happily in their casual clothes, they grabbed their coats and made their way out into the hall. Ruby was already in the hall, frowning.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune shut the door to their room with a click. Ruby shrugged and thumbed over her shoulder at the door.

"Weiss." she grumbled. They peered inside and saw the bossy Schnee carrying several bags.

"Err, Weiss? It's two days." Jaune chuckled.

"Yes but three nights." Weiss held up her finger. It was true, they'd be staying from Friday till Monday morning. Oobleck's class didn't properly resume until Tuesday, so up till then their days had all been study time, Combat practice and recuperation. "And you can never be over prepared."

"You can! You can you can you can!" Ruby yelled, Weiss wincing. She went to retort, but Ruby yelled again. "Can!"

Blake stepped out into the hall, panting, clutching her bag to her chest. "I don't know if I can do this." Everyone looked to the incredibly nervous Faunus. "Y-You're gonna have to go without me, I'm sorry!" Blake went to shut the door but Ruby and Jaune stopped it with their hands.

"Hey hey, whoa, hold on Blake!" Jaune called, Ruby pushing the door open as Blake staggered back, hyperventilating and tugging her cat ears. "What's going on?" Jaune asked softly. Blake panted and licked her lips.

"I'm scared, okay?" Blake whispered. "I haven't seen her since she lost her arm, and I'm scared because it's my fault!"

"No it's not, it was that...Adam guy." Jaune huffed.

"Believe me Jaune, that's why it's my fault."

"Oh it's your fault, it's my fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares?!" Weiss snapped. Everyone looked at her in shock. "It doesn't matter, and Yang isn't going to care, because right now she's dealing with her injury, not who to blame. So...be there, like we're all being there for each other, right?" Weiss looked around at the group. Everyone smiled and nodded.

"Right." Ren beamed. Blake bit her lip, and looked at her hands as Ruby took them gently.

"Please, Blake. I'm her sister, but...you're her partner...her best friend." Ruby pleaded. Blake's eyes widened and a new fire burned in her heart. She firmed her lip and gave a nod.

"O-Okay...okay." Blake blew out a steely breath and nodded to herself, more than anyone else. "Let's go before I change my mind." she scoffed at herself. It wasn't a threat, more an attack at herself and her struggle to deal with emotional stress. Ruby smiled and hugged the Faunus girl.

"Thanks Blake." Ruby whispered. Blake, taken back by the affection, wrapped her arms around the Rose, sighing contently at being cared for, at being home.

...

The stars twinkled in the black abyss above, like glitter thrown over black silk. The shattered moon cast a bright white glow across the land of Patch, like a broken panel of ice, floating on a sea of oil, the cracked segments of the moon all bobbing around the crescent of white.

Ruby smiled with relief as their walk down the long winding dirt path came to end amidst the edge of the woodland, a small warming house sat in the clearing. The windows were lit up warm amber, and a rising column of smoke left the tall chimney stack.

"Why couldn't the airship docks be closer!" Nora whined as she shuffled tiredly behind Ren. Her eyes pert up the moment she saw the house. "Yay! We made it!"

"Okay, so, like a surprise party, right?" Ruby whispered at them all. "I'll go in, make sure she's in her room, then you guys come in. Then...we surprise her!"

"Good plan!" Jaune thumbs upped her, grinning. Pyrrha smiled as the rose shot off in a spray of petals, before letting her gaze fall to Jaune, and her smile falter to a longing frown.

Ruby knocked on the door, and not long after did the door open to her father, Taiyang, standing there, hands drying into a tea-towel. He smiled brightly and wrapped his still damp hands around her back, hugging her tight.

"Ruby! Hey sweetheart!" He smiled. "Oh, I missed you."

"It's only been a week Dad." she laughed. Taiyang pulled back and looked at her with knowing eyes. Ruby shrunk under his gaze. "O-Oh yeah...you don't have to worry though! Everything's fine at school." Ruby looked around her dad, then pulled back to look at him. "Is Yang in her room?"

"Hasn't left it." Tai sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. "She...She's not as sunny as she used to be."

"Well, I might be able to change that." Ruby beamed, before waving at the distant path. "Come on, guys!"

Tai looked up with confusion knitted eyebrows. Soon six teenagers were stood behind Ruby, beaming at him.

"Hello sir." Ren smiled. "We've come to cheer up our friend."

Tai grinned and his eyes fell to Ruby, smirking. "I take it this was your idea?"

Ruby shrugged. "Kinda. Come on guys." Ruby stepped around her Dad as he motioned aside to let them all in. They all kicked off their dirty shoes at the door and shucked coats off, hanging them up, with a thank you to Tai as he smiled at them.

He ran his hands through his blonde locks and nodded up the stairs. "You know where her room is." Ruby beamed at her Dad and shot up the stairs like lightning. "Now, who wants a drink?" Tai smiled to his new roommates for the weekend.

"I'll help, sir." Ren said, stepping forward, clearing his throat. "Nora will have tea with five sugars - make it three, she doesn't notice the difference." he whispered in Tai's ear, the man nodding with wide eyes.

"Whoa whoa, should I be writing all this down?" Tai chuckled as Ren carried on.

Meanwhile upstairs, Ruby crept up to the door marked "Yang's room." She blew out a breath and knocked.

"Go away." Was the response. _So, this is what Dad's been dealing with_ , Ruby thought with a sigh. She knocked again and the same response greeted her, albeit angrier. Ruby groaned and opened the door, peering in as Yang stared out the window, her reflection a somber one. The bandage around her stump was lighter colored, having recently been changed and redressed. She turned her head and saw Ruby, her eyes widening minutely.

"Ruby?"

"Hey sis!" Ruby beamed, stepping in to shuffle her feet bashfully, arms behind her back. "Thought I'd come home this weekend and say hi."

"Oh...well, hi, I guess." Yang mumbled, looking back out the window. Ruby cleared her throat.

"So er...whatcha been doing?" Ruby asked, as Yang scoffed.

"Well I haven't been playing guitar if that's what you're wondering." Yang snapped. Ruby frowned.

"Yang, I-"

"Ruby, I appreciate you being here, but...just...please leave me alone." Yang sighed, practically begged with her wavering voice. Ruby stepped back and looked into the hall, at the six other friends all stood holding hot mugs of cocoa and tea. Ruby grinned and played the part.

"Oh, okay...well...I guess you won't wanna see what I brought." Ruby sighed exaggeratedly. Yang looked up, lilac eyes knitted in confusion.

"W-What'd you bring?"

"Oh you know, I brought some juniper. I could only pick four of them though." Ruby spoke.

"You know I don't like juniper berries." Yang huffed.

"Oh, and I also brought..." Yang looked up as Ruby flung the door open, both teams stepping into the room. "RWBY too!"

"HEY YANG!" Everyone cheered.

"Ah! Wh-What, what're you all doing here! I-I'm not fit to be seen, er, hang on-" Yang reached across her bed, tugging a box of tissues under her blanket and a TV remote. The teams laughed as Blake stepped forward, kneeling beside her bed. Yang snapped her eyes onto Blake's, and the lilac infused with gold. Blake smiled and handed Yang the handle of a cup of cocoa. Yang took it in her only hand and stammered.

"Hey Partner." Blake breathed tearfully. Yang set the cup down and wrapped her arm around her partner, Blake wrapping hers around Yang, tightly holding the blonde as she sobbed, Blake tearing up too.

"I'm so sorry." Blake breathed, as Yang's hand went up the back of Blake's head to stroke down over her cat ears.

"D-Don't be." Yang sniffled, eyes watering down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."

Blake smiled into Yang's hair as she hugged her friend. To hear the subject of her woes say that it wasn't her fault helped relieve her guilt in magnitudes. The nerves she'd felt hammering her heart for the last day leading up to this moment had stopped, as two best friends reunited. The others all smiled and huddled around, as Yang looked up and wiped her eyes, beaming for the first time in weeks.

"Y-You guys, you didn't have to."

"We know. But we love you, buddy." Jaune smiled, wrapping his arms around Yang, hugging her tightly. "Besides, us blondes gotta stick together, right?"

"R-Right." Yang chuckled. He pulled back and was replaced by Pyrrha, then Nora, Ren and finally Weiss. Each hug warmed her in different ways, all of which were gentle waves of tingling sensitivity she hadn't felt since she'd lost her arm and been sent home. Her friends had made her feel again.

So here they all sat, JNPR and the finally complete RWBY on the floor of Yang's room, in a circle. Cups of half drank lukewarm cocoa sat by their hips, as Yang pulled on some grey sweatpants over her sleep pants. She sat next to Ruby and kissed her sister's hair quickly.

"Thanks, sis." Yang murmured, rubbing the stump of her arm. Jaune hugged his knees and rested his chin on his wrists, working up the courage to ask.

"Hey Yang?"

"Mmm?" Yang looked up at him, smiling lightly.

"Are..." He swallowed. "Gonna sound stupid, but...does it hurt?" Jaune rubbed his cheek nervously. Yang shrugged and looked at her stump.

"A bit, worse at times. The phantom limb pain sucks though." Yang huffed. Jaune smiled softly across to her.

"Totally badass though." Jaune grinned, nervous of her reaction. Yang, to the golden haired girl's credit, just chuckled lightly at him.

"Thanks, Jaune." Yang smiled. "So err, Blakey?"

"Yeah?" Blake looked up at the brawler.

"How's things with Sun?" Yang grinned, and everyone smiled brightly at the brawler and her teasing nature slowly coming back. "You tied tails yet?"

"W-What does that even mean?" Blake chuckled, smiling at the blonde. Yang shrugged and laughed lightly as she dropped her hand into her lap, fiddling with the drawstrings. "Being with friends... _sigh_...this is perfect." Blake sighed with an uncharacteristically large smile on her face as she leaned back against the wall, purring.

"Oh my god, you purr?!" Yang squealed excitedly, lilac eyes widening. Nora gasped and squealed into her hands, eyes wide with glee.

"That is so...cute!" Ruby and Nora screamed at once. Blake's eyes widened and her smile vanished in shock. Her cheeks went red and she hid her face behind her mug.

"Guys, stop." Blake whined.

"That _was_ adorable though." Pyrrha smiled, a hand on her chest. Jaune smiled at the friends conversing, repairing one another piece by piece. Blake fidgeted and looked at Yang.

"Hey, umm...Yang?"

"Uh huh?" Yang looked up at her with a small smile.

"H-have you thought about...going back to school?" Blake asked hesitantly. Yang sighed heavily and shook her head.

"I...I can't. I mean, how can I? Look at me, Blake. I'm missing one of my weapons, pretty much." Yang huffed. "Besides...i-it still hurts and stuff...I-I dunno! I want to, of course I do, but..."

"We miss you." Weiss said, and all eyes landed on the Heiress as she ran a finger over the rim of her cup. Her dimming eyes lifted to Yang's. "We really miss you. It just...isn't the same without your puns, or teasing...or just you in general."

"Yeah...you don't realize how important you are to us, hell the whole school!" Nora exclaimed brightly, Blake nodding beside her. Yang smiled lightly at the praise and blew out a breath, looking up at the long silver box on her desk, a gift from Ironwood. "I'll think about it, okay? C-Can we talk about something else now?" Yang asked with a croak.

"Yes...err...w-what did you want to talk about?" Weiss cocked her head, hugging her knees. Yang shrugged.

"What's new with all of you? How have you been...you know, coping?" Yang shrunk her head into her shoulders, gauging their reactions. Smiles fell, looking bashfully at one another. Pyrrha's eyes nervously met Jaune's, both gulping and fidgeting. Weiss cleared her throat, snapping her fingers together with wide eyes.

"We met Neptune's older sister!" Weiss beamed, everyone else mirroring her expression. Yang raised a brow at them.

"He has a sister? Is she...you know..." Yang swirled a hand. "...is she hot?"

"Another example of the Vasilias family being able to make ridiculously cool, good looking people? Yeah. Beauty incarnate." Jaune shrugged, voice tinged with jealousy, Pyrrha snorting into her palm, much to his glee as he smiled at her.

"She's staying at Beacon for the next week or two. She's sharing a room with my sister." Weiss smiled. Yang's eyes widened.

"No way, your sis is there?"

"Yeah. She's helping out Goodwitch." Weiss sobered and frowned. "Which brings us to our first problem returning to school. Bullies."

"No." Yang frowned. "You are kidding me, right? Seriously?" Yang's eyes swirled red for a split second between winks. Weiss huffed and thumbed to Pyrrha.

"This...Ickford Dunce, he keeps picking on Pyrrha. Blaming her for what happened at the Tournament." Weiss huffed. Yang gaped, before clenching her dentures.

"Oooh, that...JERK!" She thumped her fist into her thigh. "Pyrrha, are you okay?"

"He's picked on Weiss, too." Nora added, Ren nodding. Yang frowned, before snapping her eyes to Blake and her lack of bow and ribbon. The broken brawler's eyes watered slightly as she shook her head, mouthing "No", praying that he wasn't a Faunus xenophobe. Blake caught on to her reaction and smiled, leaning over to stroke her thumb over her hand.

"He hasn't picked on me, or Ruby. Just Weiss and Pyrrha. He hates the Schnee's for some reason...and really hates Pyrrha." Blake's ears lowered. Yang stood up, growling.

"Ooh, tell me where he is, I'll-" She awoke to the present, and became aware of her current state when she went to thump fists together, and almost punched her upper arm, no fist to meet the other. She sighed and sat down, cross legged and looking at her lap with a broken, solemn expression. The other's all shared worried looks, before Ruby tried desperately to change the subject.

"I know what we can do! We errr...we caaaaaan..." Ruby looked around the room, when her eyes landed on a deck of cards. "We can play a game!"

"Ruby!" Weiss whined. The Rose got up and grabbed the pack of cards, stopping to glance at the silver rectangular box on the desk. She bit her lip and went to ask, but decided better of it for now, returning to her friends.

As Ruby began to slide cards to each player, Jaune saddled up to Pyrrha, the red head hugging her knees to her chest. He nudged her softly and she snapped her eyes to his.

"Jaune?" she asked softly. He worried his lip and leaned to her ear.

"We need to talk...A-About some stuff."

"What stuff?" She asked innocently. Jaune gave her a knowing look with a frown and she sighed. "Right. Of course."

"I want us to have a bit of privacy for this, and...well Ren had the idea that we walk into the small village back by the docks. We'll grab a coffee and have a talk, okay?" He asked softly and she couldn't help but smile at his idea and soft tones.

"O-Okay..." She reluctantly nodded. She was scared. This was it. The inevitable conversation of how he couldn't see her romantically anymore. Jaune gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and stood up, flattening out the creases in his jeans. All eyes of the card game players looked up at him.

"So umm, Pyrrha and I are just gonna take a walk into that small village down the road. We won't be long." Jaune swallowed thickly.

"We'll come with you, right Yang-"

"No!" Jaune said, coughing into his fist at Ruby's confused look. "No, it's just..."

"Jaune and I have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Pyrrha said with a sad smile, Jaune nodding to his shoes. The group all exchanged looks.

"Okay, well...don't be long." Ruby huffed, turning back to her cards. Yang looked at Pyrrha and gave a small smile, along with a wink. Basically the brawlers soft side, saying _"Don't worry, it'll be okay."_

Pyrrha smiled to her and grabbed her coat, pulling it on and tying the belt around the middle as Jaune tugged his black coat on too.

"We won't be long. You guys want anything while we're there?" Jaune asked.

"Err...Gummy worms!" Nora exclaimed brightly, Yang nodding in agreement.

"Cookies!" Ruby cried.

"Gums and cookies, got it. See you in a bit." Jaune opened the door, letting Pyrrha walk out first. Jaune looked over his shoulder at Ren, who gave a small smile to him and a gentle nod. Jaune meekly smiled and shut the door behind him. They had to have this conversation. Now? now, there was no going back.

...

Rouge sat in the JSPR Dorm room, looking at the scroll in her hand, scanning the display on screen. It ranged from a collection of numbers, squad Aura levels, and text conversations between squad mates. That sort of information was invaluable - and dangerous in the wrong hands - what with dates and times and even GPS tracking on fellow squad mates. Weiss Schnee should really be more careful, and remember not to leave her scroll unattended.

Rouge grinned maniacally at the copied information now stored in her scroll. She got up and paced out of the room, locking the door with a click. Funneling down the nighttime corridors of Beacon's Dormitory block, she finally met the door she was after.

RWBY's Dorm room. She grinned and scanned her scroll, the copied code from Weiss' scroll easily unlocking the door with a click. Gingerly she opened the door to the dark and empty room, shutting the door behind her and sealing herself into the room. A manic grin spread over her lips.

Her wig was itching like fire ants gnawing at flesh. With no audience in an empty dark room, she shucked it off, pealing the fake locks off, swishing her pink and brown tresses back and forth, cascading down her shoulders to frame her pale face. Rouge colored eyes flickered within a blink. Heterochromia eyes scanned the room, one pink and the other brown.

With a satisfied smirk, the short girl approached the wardrobe, opening it and grinning, taking out one of Weiss' frilly white dresses. She looked at the full height mirror, squinting and comparing her height and the length of the dress. She smirked, satisfied, before taking out a matching pair of shoes, and a crown-like hair ornament. She hefted the clothes up and folded them under her arm, before setting the room back to normal and almost gearing to leave. She paused, looking back at the beds.

The make-shift bunk beds made her raise a brow, before she saw the bed in question. Ruby's. It was obvious, so obvious, what with the picture on her bedside table, propped up against the windowsill. She picked up the picture, frowning at the red rose, the girl in question smiling brightly between the Faunus, the yellow haired aggressor and frost haired Heiress. She set the picture back down, fighting the tensing urge to crumple it up, maybe tear it.

With a final sneer, she picked up and reset the wig, eyes blinking back to rouge. She turned and left the room, one of Weiss' outfits under arm. Her plan was so close to coming to fruition...

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So yeah, another chapter. Not brilliant, I know. I struggle with proof reading chapters this long, so if there are any mistakes hidden, I'm sorry I missed them. I must've reread every bloody line nine times. Nightmare haha. Please remember to review, I always love to hear your feedback, it helps and encourages me to write all the more! Right, Review begging over, I'll see you next time! - Dave**


	5. A Much Needed Talk

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay. Been without internet for the last few days. So, before this chapter, just a few things. First off, I want to thank the reviewers who pointed out room for improvement in this fic, I think it was ZappyZappy and Bri. I took on board those criticisms and appreciate it to be honest. You weren't slating the fic, or being abusive, just pointing out room for improvement, so thank you!**

 **Secondly, The names for the Acts are as follow:**

 **Act One: The Healing**

 **Act Two: The Qrow, the Raven and the Jackdaw**

 **Act Three: The Fracturing**

 **Act Four: The Deacon**

 **I'll leave it up to you to interpret. If you want some extra info on this fic, I post artwork of the story and characters on my DeviantArt page. Concept art and such. DavidEllisArtwork, if you're interested. Check it out if you want. It's there all the same.**

 **And finally, the next week or two might be a struggle to update weekly, as I'm moving house. I'll try to get them out as quick as I can, but I can't promise anything. It's not for long, but still an annoying disruption. Just trying to keep you all in the loop!**

 **So, anyways, on with the Chapter! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Five: A Much Needed Talk**

 **...**

 **Sunrise after Vytal Tournament attack:**

She screamed. Screamed in absolute agony as charred flesh hung in ribbons down her cheek, claret oozing black as tar. Two men flanked either side, dragging her across rough cold stone, her knees baring ripped skin. Matted black hair hung over one devoid eye, smashed bone of the eye socket leaving fragments of ivory peppering the torn flaps of muscle and skin. Her already broken vocals cracked further as she wailed even harder.

"Hold her, Tyrian!"

"I answer only to my Goddess, not to _you_ , Hazel." The braided man grinned, golden eyes gleaming with a deranged swirl. "Buuut, she _did_ ask us to bring her home, soooo..."

"Just grab her." Hazel's gruff voice hardened, along with his grip on her forearm, slippery with blood. "Hang on Cinder, just hang on."

The girl of fire wailed as another bout of excruciating, debilitating, mind-numbing pain tore through her face. Blood trickled from her brow, like fingers of hot liquid stroking their way down her features.

Her stomach churned, queasy at the loss of blood. Two huge doors burst open, Cinder barely conscious enough to see through her one eye. Blurry redness masked her vision as matted claret caked her eyelashes, almost sewing them shut. Through the haze, she made out the form of the mustached Arthur Watts, standing from his chair with a look of undeniable shock on his face.

"What happened-"

"Watts, heat up the brand! We'll use it to cauterize this wound!" Hazel yelled, lifting her thickly matted fringe and wincing as he surveyed the state of her face. "Hang in there, Cinder."

The mustached man nodded, turning to the nearest door and disappearing to fire up the forge. Hazel lifted the girl bridal style, her silhouette painted on his shirt with her claret. He lay her down on the long table of the Inner circle's meetings. Emerald and Mercury stood at the doors, the mint haired girl's hands caked in blood and shaking. Mercury was no stranger to blood, so the only minute shock came from the deafening screams of pain echoing around the hall, and the state of Cinder's eye socket.

"Tyrian. Tyrian! Get me the med kit!" Hazel yelled as the grinning maniac simply shrugged and paced away into the darkness, a cackle spilling from his throat. "Tyrian! Oh for...Emerald! Get the kit!"

Cinder gave a cry of agony, arching her back off the table and thrashing her legs, her scream crackling until her voice finally caved, silence leaving her throat as she tried to scream, but found the scratchy innards unable to comply. Emerald had dropped the old medical kit five times from shaking digits by the time she reached the table. She was only ever a thief after all.

"I-I...I dunno what happened..." Emerald slurred as Hazel took the kit, her eyes never leaving Cinder's writhing form. "She was...then it..."

Watts returned, long stick with a circular metal head, glowing amber. He handed it to Hazel, the man moving Cinder's fringe, dangling the super heated metal over her face.

"This...this is going to hurt." Hazel's gruff voice snapped. He went to press down, Cinder feeling the frightening heat already, when a voice stopped him.

"No, Hazel."

The giant man froze, pulling the brand back and stepping away as he eyed the female speaker. Cinder gurgled and tried to cry, but couldn't. Then her vision filled with pale white skin. Black and red eyes narrowed at the wounded girl and lips firmed with annoyance.

"But Salem, she's bleeding out."

"She had one opportunity, and she failed me. You were supposed to steal the Maiden's powers, but you grew power hungry. Tell me Cinder, did you enjoy defying my orders and having your fun, reaping havoc across Beacon? The only plus to be found from this is Ozpin's dead." Salem studied the bleeding girl with an unconvinced frown. "Is he dead, Cinder?"

"My Queen, perhaps now isn't the ti-

Salem held up a hand, instantly silencing her inner circle's concerns, her red eyes never leaving Cinder's as the girl gurgled, blood from her eye trickling into her mouth, copper tainting her taste buds.

"Cinder's injury is not ours to deal with. She would not have received it had she done as I instructed. So, no...you won't seal her wound." Salem walked away, hands held over her stomach, her pace so smooth it was as if she were hovering. The others gaped at her, except Tyrian, grinning from his perch on his chair. Salem paused, looking back over her shoulder, the ornaments dangling from her hair clinking with her movements.

"Besides. She prides herself on her use of fire. She tried to take on much more powerful beings with fire. She can seal her own wound...with her fire."

Salem left the room, not before adding with her sultry and icy tones: "You disappoint me, Cinder."

The girl coughed and wheezed, lifting a red stained hand to her blurry one-sided vision, igniting her digits in blazing flames, tracking down to fill her palm with heat. She panted, a wobbly horizon of scorching heat coating her hand in a blazing aura. Her fears were quickly ignored, as suddenly she slapped her hand down, pressing her palm over her bleeding wounded eye socket.

A loud sizzling hissed when a vocal cord snapping scream managed to leave her throat, as she scorched the nerve endings of her face, scar tissue forming at the flaming heat melting and fusing her bloodied socket.

The scream would go on to wound her vocals to the point where even forming coherent words would become impossible. Cinder was a hollow wreck of her former, flirty self. Alas it wasn't only down to the blazing white light of a Silver eyed warrior's midnight eruption, but the red haired girl kneeling before her.

...

Gravel crunched under heel as the two teens paced side by side under the crumbled lunar glow. Red and yellow, side by side for so long, through thick and thin, both gulped and avoided eye contact. The wedge of emotions between them had widened to a gaping chasm of solicitous hearts. Both wanted the same thing. Both wanted the other, both wanted languid kisses, warm skin on skin, souls unbound to tie together. But the constant overhang of that fateful night, that almost last kiss that now left sour tastes and memories, had poisoned what they had, and made it so very hard to even mention where they stood.

So being their usual unsure and nervous selves, they elected to ignore their hearts. To be friends. But feelings only hurt and ache to near physical levels of pain when they're ignored. Now Pyrrha hurt. Now she ached, with the need to have him be her's. Her thoughts were only mirrored tenfold by the blonde boy.

"So..." Pyrrha cleared her throat, ducking her chin down to hide her chapped lips behind her scarf. "What did you want to talk about?"

Jaune fixed her with a knowing look, Pyrrha frowning beneath the fabric of her scarf. "About us. Where we're at after a week or two of..." Jaune trailed off, unsure of the words.

"Fixing ourselves." Pyrrha nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm umm...nervous of what's on your mind."

"Ditto." Jaune scoffed, rubbing a numb hand over his face as they finally went from moonlight to streetlights, entering the small village square. It was mostly abandoned this late, but a few shops were still open, luckily the coffee shop being one of them. Pyrrha stopped by the fountain in the center of the square, looking down at the water as she placed a hand on her buxom chest, trying to quell her drumming heart.

She quivered a gulp at her red haired reflection, tenderness in her skin prickling at even the ruffling of her coat against her arms. Her reflection wobbled as the ghostly carp in the cool waters slurped at the air, begging to be fed the usual crumbles of bread from the now shut bakery. She smiled lightly, shakily even, at the giant golden scaled fish.

"Hey...you okay?" Jaune asked tentatively. Pyrrha huffed, looking up at him with sparkly green eyes.

"Yes. Just needed a moment, I guess." She blew out an obviously shaky breath. Jaune smiled and nodded over his shoulder to the shop. "Okay." She smiled weakly. The two walked over and he pushed the door open, letting Pyrrha step in first and into the warm shop.

Porcelain clinked in the back of the shop, low murmurs of customers adding an atmospheric hum to the chorus of clinks, melding wonderfully with the sweet and sharp smell of freshly ground coffee and warm soft doughy pastry.

"I'll get us our drinks." Jaune said, Pyrrha frowning, fumbling in her pocket for her wallet. Jaune smirked. "S'okay, I got this one. What d'ya want, Pyr?" He asked, with her nickname, which made her smile. He obviously still cared. She was just scared that it would always be as a friend.

"Umm...A latte would be lovely, thank you." She smiled that brilliant beam that he loved. Gods, she wanted to just lean up and kiss him. He smiled back warmly and stepped up to the counter as Pyrrha walked over to a secluded and warm booth in the corner, looking out through a large window at the night time Town square. She sat down and blew out a shaky breath, fingers fiddling nervously atop the brushed steel table top. She bit her lip and her heart drummed in her chest.

She was scared, that much was certain. Scared it would end before it began, scared he couldn't see her romantically anymore for how that night panned out. Thing is, she'd had a taste of his heart, and she wanted it forever more. She knew the taste of his lips, soft and tantalizingly warm. Now that she knew, she craved it, she didn't want to go without ever feeling or tasting it again, having it light her nerve endings on fire with pure joy and ecstasy. She was addicted to him.

She snapped from her thoughts as Jaune sat opposite her in the quiet booth, sliding her cardboard sleeved cup over to her, a hot cloud of steam warming her cheeks and tempting her nasals with sweet coffee. She cupped the drink and hummed, smiling at him.

"Thank you, Jaune."

"You're welcome." He rubbed his slightly stubbly chin, blowing out a loud sigh. She drummed her fingers into her cup, before lifting it to take a sip of the scolding drink. The warm liquid ran down her throat into her belly, letting a calming heat pool in her stomach, trying to battle the icy cold gooey dread that sat there before. "Oh...I-I dunno know how to talk about any of this." Jaune scoffed at himself.

"Mmm, me neither." Pyrrha unwrapped her scarf from around her neck, tucking it into a coat pocket. "But...you must have some idea, right? F-For wanting to have this talk I mean." Pyrrha mumbled, bashfully eyeing the swirling froth in her drink.

"I guess...It was more Ren being overly worried about us." Jaune grumbled, sipping his coffee, eyes trying to look through the glass at the night time world, but instead watching Pyrrha's gorgeous reflection instead.

"Well can you blame him? We've been trying to steer clear of obvious feelings, and it's..." Pyrrha hugged her stomach with a weak almost ironic smile. "...it's hurting more than it's helping."

"Mmm." Jaune mumbled, stirring a wooden stick around his cup, unsettling the caramel sludge at the bottom. "How err...How are you doing? I'm sick of talking about me." Jaune scoffed, taking a swig. Pyrrha smiled lightly, looping a fallen lock of vermilion behind her ear, her porcelain skin practically glowing with the lunar light pouring in through the pane.

"I'm...I'm better, thank you." Pyrrha shrugged, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "I...I spoke to my Mother and Father the other day. Professor Goodwitch let me use her satellite scroll." Pyrrha brightly beamed, Jaune mirroring her expression.

"How are they? Okay?"

"Mmm..." Pyrrha gulped her hot latte, licking her lips inadvertently slowly to Jaune's pleasure. "Yes, all is good at home. My Mother is well...Father is well...everyone is well." Pyrrha began to mumble towards the end, stirring her wooden stick, eyeing the swirling froth. Jaune huffed. "...All is well."

"Pyrrha. C'mon." Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose. Pyrrha sighed heavily, defeated.

"I had to...I had to tell them...about that night." Pyrrha winced, closing her eyes tight.

"Oh." Jaune froze, skin paling.

"They asked. How could I lie? I...I almost died, Jaune. I was...milliseconds from dying, when Ruby saved me. I told them about the whole night. They threatened to pull me out of Beacon and bring me home. I...I told them I couldn't. I had too much here, too much I cared about to leave." She looked up through her lashes at him, knowingly, poignantly. Jaune bit his lip, closing his eyes, skin crinkling atop his scrunched brow.

"Why, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, opening his glossy eyes. Pyrrha's eyes widened at him, cradling the cardboard sleeve around her cup. "Why'd you push me in that locker?"

"Jaune..."

"It's been eating away at me, for...gods since the minute it happened! I know, I know, b-but...gods, why?" Jaune grit his dentures, hands paling on the table, a single tear hanging on a lash, glass buds on a branch. Pyrrha sniffed and looked over at the shop, zigzagging her teeth up and down the length of her bottom lip, almost slicing the chappy skin.

"Because...I...I..."

"Partners support each other, Pyrrha. I was your partner, and I could have helped you. Why? Why'd you push me away, I am your partner-"

"That's why." She snapped, Jaune freezing in place. "Because Partners protect one another. But we were closer than just partners. I...I've cared about you in a different and confusing light since initiation. I've never had feelings like these, and I'm sorry if I'm not sure how to show or utilize them. While other children were taught to walk, I was taught to run. While other children learnt to ride bikes, I learnt to wield swords and spears. I've always been sure of myself as a warrior. Then you come along. You and your...quirky adorableness...and your beautiful smile and kindred heart to everyone you meet!" She panted, eyes glossy too.

"...You shattered everything I knew. You saw right through my...stupid title and...damned ugly fame, and you saw _me_!" she pressed her hands to her chest, the heavy emotion in her voice cracking. "I was taught not to care. I was taught to lock away my heart, and replace any feelings with a spear and shield. I had no desire for relationships when I was younger, because I was taught not to. It bled into friendships, and made me seem...cold to everyone else. So, when I craved attention, not the press, real friendship attention, they were scared of me, of my strength, of my title. Nobody got close, and anyone who did, did so for money or to play with the useless plastic toys I'd accumulated in a desire to fill that empty void." She looked down at her cup, sniffing as a salty tear dropped to mingle in her sweet latte.

"Pyrrha-"

"You know, I used to have a rocking Horse that was my one and only friend. He wouldn't run when my emotions boiled over. He wouldn't ask me for money, he wouldn't pretend to be a friend, so he could claim to be friends with the Invincible girl!" She growled, teeth gritted, eyes streaming by now. Jaune blinked and wiped his eyes, fighting the urge to just lean over the table and wipe hers. "...He listened to me."

"...Then I met you." She whimpered. Jaune looked up at her as she sniffed. "You. You and your...fake bravado and...womanizing attitude when in reality you were the exact opposite. You saw right through the Invincible girl. You saw _me_."

The way Pyrrha spoke about her title struck a deep chord in Jaune. Like it was Jekyll and Hyde. A monster that latched to her, a parasite that weighed her down, almost a totally separate entity. He slid his hand over the table and cupped her shaking digits, squeezing and molding the rigid flesh into warm dough.

"...You. You are... _everything_ to me, Jaune. You gave me so many friends when before, I sought friendship in a wooden toy, because nobody else could see the real me!" she sniffed, eyes brimming and dripping long rivulets of salty sadness down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I am...b-but I had to protect you..."

"Pyrrha." Jaune sighed, massaging her knuckles with his thumb. "You don't think it works both ways?" he blinked. Like emeralds catching the light at the bottom of a lake, her wobbly green eyes lifted to study him. "I care about you a lot...like, _a lot_. I didn't realize how much until that night." He swallowed thickly. Pyrrha let a weak smile curve her lips, thumb swiping her tears away.

"I care about you too." Pyrrha smiled lightly. Desperate to change the focus from her, wiping her eyes, she chewed her tongue before parting her lips. "H-How have you been?"

Jaune gave a lopsided smile and let go of her hand, much to her chagrin. She pawed at the air for his retreating hand and caught it, her face blotchy red as she sought to feel weak and in need of help, of the smallest of things, even as simple as holding his hand. He smiled and gave a gentle squeeze, his own face blushing red.

"I've been...ahh, you know." He shrugged, eyes studying the incredibly soft and smooth hand in his. "Okay? I guess? I dunno, it's been really rough."

"Mmm. How are you now though? Is being with friends helping?" She asked softly, the tables turned as now she soothed his hand with massaging digits. Jaune closed his eyes, smiling, intent to enjoy the feel of her smooth fingers sliding over his.

"Yeah. Yeah, being back at Beacon's been hard, but...at the same time, it's great! Having my team back...my family." Jaune smiled, Pyrrha beaming at him, tears left behind, albeit leaving drying streaks on her cheeks. "Being with you has helped." He mumbled, blushing as she smiled even wider. He sat back into the plushy leather padding of the booth, fingers absentmindedly drumming into his cup. "It's...It's been nice getting back to being friends with you. I mean, before the Vytal Tournament we were easily best buds!"

"We were." Pyrrha grinned brightly to him, with love and adoration in her gaze. "And yes, it's been lovely getting my wonderful bestest friend in the world back."

Jaune grinned sheepishly, scratching behind his ear. An awkward silence befell over them as they sipped drinks, cleared clogged throats and avoided locking eyes. Until Pyrrha huffed and snapped her fingers together, Jaune blinking back into the room.

"I have something I want to ask you." Pyrrha bit her lip. Jaune leaned forward on his elbows, a perplexed look on his face

"Shoot." He shrugged. Pyrrha smiled and nodded to herself.

"Before...th-that night..." She swirled her hand and shut her eyes, before opening them again on his soft sapphire gaze. "...Did you see me...did...wh-what I'm trying to ask is..." She huffed loudly and thumped her fists softly to her forehead with a groan. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at thi-

"Yes." Jaune smiled lopsidedly, Pyrrha's eyes widening on him, lowering her hand. "Yeah, I did. A lot changed for me, during the dance. I learned that I'd wasted a lot of time chasing the wrong girl." He scratched at the wealth of stubble under his chin, Pyrrha placing a hand over her heart at his words. "It was at the dance, when I saw you on your own, you in that beautiful dress..." He blushed bright red, clearing his throat as his face grew hot. "...b-b-but it was when I spoke to you on the roof...and you said that I was the kinda guy you wanted to go to the dance with."

"I remember..." She blushed. "It...I often wish that had played out differently."

"Hey, you me both. You dropped that bombshell then walked away, leaving me talking with Neptune! I mean sure I helped him with _his_ girl problems, but funnily..." he sighed, sobering. "...I'm still struggling with mine."

"Mmm...Sorry about that." Pyrrha chuckled weakly under her breath. "Buuuut, at the same time...I'm glad it panned out how it did too. Because you made my night when you wore that dress for me." She smiled, finger tracing the rim of her cup.

"Oh yeah." He blushed bright scarlet, sheepishly chuckling. "Well, I mean, an Arc never goes back on his word."

"Mmm...Thank you, all the same." She smiled lovingly. Jaune smiled back.

"Course." he cleared his throat, pointing to his empty cup. "I-I'm done, err...you?"

"Mmm..." She pouted adorably, showing him her empty cup. "All gone."

"Come on...Wrap up again and we'll do the ol' _Walk n' Talk_." He grinned as Pyrrha snorted.

"Is that an actual branded thing?" she shuffled out of the booth, tugging her coat on.

"Oh yeah, course! Copyrighted and everything!" Jaune grinned, his red haired companion giggling.

"Oh, come on, silly." Pyrrha rolled her eyes with mirth, wrapping her checkered blue scarf around her neck.

...

As the moon loomed over the quiet campus of Beacon, a lone woman shivered at a gust of chilly wind, like icy tendrils plucking every ridge of her spine. Winter looped a lock of frost behind her ear, blowing out a cloud of fog, eyes searching for nothing. She huffed and hugged her upper arms, stroking some warmth into her cardigan wrapped upper body.

"Sup, buddy?" Eryka yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Winter's smile was almost nonexistent, but it was there all the same. "Just giving Dulcis his last flight before bed...tucker him out a bit. What about you? What you doing up?"

"Hmm?"

"C'mon Wints. I know you're no party animal, so it's not a night on the town keeping you up, it's something in here." She tapped a finger to the Schnee's head. "C'mon hon, speak your mind." Eryka perched her generous rear on the stone banister, tilting her head to let her blue tresses pour like a river down her equally generous chest. Winter bit her lip but eventually huffed.

"It's Weiss. It's...well it's a lot of things, I guess." The older Schnee shrugged, pressing clammy hands into cooling concrete. Eryka nodded to herself, sapphire blue eyes peering at Winter as she studied the moon.

"Okay...what's bothering you the most?" Eryka bobbed her shoulders, Winter staring at her. "Narrow it down a bit."

"Well...in all seriousness...It's Goodwitch." Winter said, Eryka's brows knitting in confusion. "You were right, Eryka. Something's not right. Why aren't bullies getting punished?"

"Mmm. Tis a weird one." Eryka chewed her lip. "Kid's walking around like he owns the damn place, and Goodwitch is pussyfooting around him. Doesn't add up."

"Exactly. I don't like it." Winter swiped her thumb along her bottom lip thoughtfully. Eryka kicked her legs back and forth a bit, before grinning at the tiles below. Winter noticed, and her stomach dropped into a cold pit.

"What?" Winter winced, as Eryka's smile grew. "No..."

"I say we do a little digging, huh? Find out what Goodwitch and that kid are hiding. Cos something does not add up!"

"Soooo...what are you saying, Eryka?"

"I'm saying, we become..." She leaped off her perch on the banister, on tip toes to hold her arms up over her head. "Detectives!"

"Hey! That's our thing!" Sun yelled from the doorway of the balcony, Neptune crossing his arms beside him.

"Yeah! Come on Eryka, don't steal our thunder!"

"What are you dummies whining about?" Eryka deadpanned, slumped forward, arms dangling heavily. Neptune scoffed, Sun mirroring the action as they dug around in their pockets.

"What are we on about, I'll show you, where is i-AHA!" Neptune held up his golden badge, Sun finding his too. "We're Junior Detectives!"

"Yeah! So back off!" Sun added with a grin. Eryka looked at Winter and they both snorted.

"That's dumb." Eryka added, crossing her arms under her buxom chest.

"Pfft, no way! You're dumb!" Neptune pointed at his sister.

"Got em." Sun added, backing up his partner, high-fiving him.

"It does sound rather childish." Winter added, Eryka smirking. "That goes for you too."

"Aww, hey! You're supposed to have my back!" Eryka pouted.

"We don't need this, do we Sun? Come on dude, we got lots of stuff to do. Detective stuff!" Neptune stuck out his tongue, before walking away in a stomp. Sun shrugged and followed, his grin never leaving his face. Eryka ran a hand down her face.

"My brother...is a doof sometimes" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway! C'mon Wints, we gotta find out what's going on, or you'll never sleep again!"

"Eryka, if we get caught we could get in trouble."

"Now who sounds childish?" Eryka placed her hands on her wide hips, just as Dulcis dropped from the night sky to perch on her shoulder, nuzzling his beak into her nest of blue hair. Winter huffed.

"I'm serious! I have a reputation to uphol-

"Chickensayswhat?" Eryka cupped her ear.

"What?" Winter growled.

"Cluck-cluck-cluck!" Eryka flapped her arms like wings, Winter's eye twitching. "Chic-chic-chicken!"

"Urgh! Fine! Finefinefine! We'll do the stupid detective thing, we'll get stupidly caught, we'll get stupidly in trouble, all because you were-

"Stupid?" Eryka grinned like a Cheshire cat. Winter sucked in a deep breath, blowing it out shakily.

"J-Just remember your calming techniques...blood pressure...in...and out..." Winter walked away, Eryka giggling to herself. "She must be trying to kill me..."

"C'mon Dulcis! Off to bed with you!" Eryka sang, skipping after Winter. "Messin with you is soooo fun!"

...

The two Arkos teens paced around the rapidly emptying town square, talking about their friends, their friends love interests and lives, basically being their usual selves and avoiding their own issues. Until Pyrrha befell wise to the situation, sighing as she shrunk her head down at a gust of harsh wind. Jaune stopped rambling and looked at her downward gaze.

"We're doing it again."

"Doing what again?" Jaune asked, to which Pyrrha scoffed to the shattered moon above.

"Avoiding talking about us! Talking about everyone else, bar ourselves, Jaune!" She spat with glimmering diamonds clinging to her long lashes. Jaune sucked his lip, eyeing his boots.

"Cos I dunno what to say, okay?" Jaune mumbled.

"Okay, Umm, I'll start. Jaune, do you like me?" Pyrrha crossed her arms.

"Yeah, course-"

"No, do you... _like-like_ me, to quote a certain Valkyrie." Pyrrha asked as they settled to a spot around a row of thin and pruned spruce trees, tucked into sculpted plant pots. Jaune sucked his lip and stepped around the nearest tree, pressing his cheek into the bark as he nodded, eyes flitting down to his shoes. Pyrrha sighed softly and stepped closer with a clack of heels.

"So why do this to ourselves?"

"Because I'm scared." Jaune mumbled. Pyrrha tilted her head, flicking her fringe out of her eyes.

"Of what?" She asked softly.

"Pyrrha-"

"No Jaune, of what?" She asked with a mirthless chuckle. Jaune drummed his fingers into the tree, before locking his alluring blues onto her beautiful greens. He stepped around the tree and closed his eyes, softly leaning his forehead against hers, the Nikos girl closing her own to bump her brow against his. He sighed heavily, enjoying the feeling of her forehead pressed to his, both humming gently.

"...of losing you." He breathed at last. Pyrrha's eyes opened as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a warm hug. "I-I'm just not...I dunno if I can..."

"Shhh...it's okay, Jaune. Deep wounds always hold the biggest scars." She sighed softly, her warm breath a brand of fire to his icy neck.

"I'm just...I know it's stupid, but...I-I can't get that kiss outta my head!" He reeled back out of her hug, but she kept her arms locked around his neck, her eyes and nose scant millimeters from his own. "How...soft you felt...how warm you are...how..." He blinked and stared deeply into her emerald gaze, so tantalizingly close. He huffed shakily and took her arms in his hands to slowly ease them out of their coil around his nape. Reluctantly Pyrrha nodded to her shoes, lowering her arms to her chest, blowing hot air onto the numb digits. Turning on his heels, he eyed the shattered moon above, sniffing.

"W-We should get back, huh?" Jaune scoffed dryly to the sky, swiping his cheeks. Pyrrha stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around his wide frame, hugging herself tightly into his back. He felt her arms thread through the gaps between his arms and sides, her fingers lacing together over his heart. Nuzzling her cheek between his shoulder blades, the Invincible girl spoke.

"I adore you." Pyrrha said above a whisper. Jaune looked down and deflated his bravado, his puffed out chest shrinking. His bigger hands enveloped hers, his thumbs working circles into the back of her hands.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me..." Jaune croaked, gulping with a loud click. "A-And I'm so so scared of losing that..."

"How will us being apart change how long we have in this world?" Pyrrha asked, hugging him a little tighter.

"It's hard to pretend to love someone when you don't..." Jaune said, and Pyrrha's breath hitched. "...but dust is it harder to pretend _not_ to love someone when you do."

Pyrrha squeezed him and smiled softly, nuzzling her cheek into his back.

"We're an odd pair, aren't we?" Pyrrha spoke and Jaune scoffed in agreement. "Both in the same boat...too afraid to take that dive into the deep." She turned him around gently, swiping her fringe out of her eyes as she looked up into his adoringly. "Thing is, Jaune...it's not as scary to dive in, once you know how deep it is."

He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers, the two being the only thing that existed in that moment. "How deep is it?"

"Deep enough I can't see the bottom." She smiled, sliding her forehead up along his until her lips pressed into his nose. "But I'll still jump in...as long as I'm with you." He smiled lightly at her words and opened his eyes as he lifted his own head, eyes locking in alignment with hers, their lips touching in the briefest, ghosting of kisses.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and leaned forward, firmly pushing and molding her pillowy lips over his. They both hummed, enjoying their mingling tastes, before the languid kiss ended, Pyrrha stepping back and looking into his sparkling blue eyes. He stared at her radiating beauty, the glimmer of her gorgeous big eyes, her red hair fluttering in the breeze, her incredible smile speaking volumes of her affection. It all became so apparent...how close he came to losing it all. It all became too apparent how he'd never be able to protect her, be able to fight to keep her safe. It all became so apparent how dangerously fragile their lives were. How fragile hers was. His gaze soured, watering suddenly as he choked into his hand.

"I-I gotta go, I can't do this..." Jaune quivered, quickly trying to leave the village square.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called, thumping her fists into her brow, growling in frustration into her hands, raking them down her face. She spun quickly and heavily to face the fountain, angry and upset, eyeing the carp swimming in the lunar lit waters. With a determination in her heart, she turned and briskly walked, almost ran after him.

"Jaune, wait, please!"

"Pyrrha, please stop." He begged, sniffling, wiping profusely at his eyes. She frowned and grabbed his hand, tugging him around to face her, almost throwing him over. He spun on his heels, panting and covering his eyes with his sleeved arm, while the other stayed firmly grasped by the girl of his dreams. She reached up and gripped his arm, pulling it away from his face, revealing watering bloodshot eyes, full of hurt emotion, practically bleeding down his cheeks in salty rivulets. "I c-c-can't do this."

"Shhh...shhh..." Pyrrha hushed softly, stroking his hands, trying to quell his hiccuping gasps. "Don't cry, Jaune."

"I-I-I can't- _gasp_ -help it." He closed his eyes, dropping his head down, chin atop collarbones. "That night ruined everything!"

Pyrrha sighed heavily and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his, a branding heat erupting at the very instant their skin met. Jaune visibly softened, still gasping and sniffling.

"I adore you too." Jaune cried. "...And it's killing me."

"Oh Jaune..." Pyrrha whispered, hands lifting to cradle his face, thumbs swiping tears away. "We really weren't ready for this conversation, were we?" she scoffed. Jaune shook his head against her forehead, sniffing as her thumbs wiped away another bout of tears.

"N-No...I'm sorry." Jaune whimpered. "You don't deserve this stress on top of everything else."

"Hey, hush...Don't think that anything involving you is stressful to me. I enjoy spending time with you, training you...even this, despite the emotions." She quirked a dry smile.

"I'm sorry I ruined...y-you know, what happened back there." He licked his lips, Pyrrha smiling lightly as she enjoyed the soft press of his brow into hers. "Gods, you deserve so much more!"

"I've got more than enough, Jaune. And you didn't ruin anything. I'm sorry for rushing you. It's obvious you're really struggling with what happened." Pyrrha murmured softly, stroking his cheek.

"But it's so stupid! I mean, _you_ were the one in peril, _you_ were the one who got injured, nearly killed! I should be helping _you_ , not the other way around." Jaune snarled at himself. Pyrrha sighed, brushing the straw out of his eyes, back into his messy thatch atop his head.

"You can't help how you feel, Jaune. You can't help how your wounds show themselves." Pyrrha spoke gently. Jaune looked up into her eyes, so close to him they blurred into a mass of evergreen. "I can't help how I feel...a-about you." Pyrrha admitted. Jaune worried his lip, a silence dangerously close to awkward settling in the very small space between them. Until Jaune sucked up his nerves.

He gingerly leaned over and planted a gentle, nervous kiss onto her cheek. Pyrrha hummed at the gesture, sliding her hands down his face to cup his cheeks. Her thumbs smoothed over his face, before she leaned in and softly brushed her lips over his. Jaune whimpered shakily, hands trembling at his sides, until Pyrrha pulled away, sighing hot puffs of air against his face.

"A step in the right direction, no matter how small, it's still a first step." Pyrrha smiled, Jaune nodding weakly and turning to look at the Town Square. He shakily breathed out, before professionally changing the subject, much to Pyrrha's chagrin.

"Gummy worms and cookies, remember?" Jaune gulped. Pyrrha huffed and looked at her shoes, slapping her hands against her legs lightly.

"Yes." She swallowed thickly. "We mustn't forget that."

...

Jaune opened the front door with a gentle click, seeing the clock on the wall ticking away methodically past the midnight mark. Pyrrha stepped in behind him, shutting the door softly as Jaune's cerulean eyes adjusted to the darkness, and the figure slumped on the couch.

Taiyang was asleep, snoring softly with his head thrown back over the crown of the couch, Zwei curled up asleep in his lap. The little dog breathed steadily in the comfy position on Tai's lap, unawares of the two teens gently padding into the kitchen to set the bag down. The plastic rustled and Jaune winced as Zwei's head shot up, ears darting in all directions.

Pyrrha gingerly patted the dog's head, calming him as he recognized the lack of threat, though Zwei was hardly a guard dog. Pyrrha smiled as Zwei shook his head, collar jingling, before hopping off of Tai to stretch and walk over to his food bowl, in his usual bold and brash prance. Pyrrha looked at Tai as the single Father groggily groaned and rubbed his eyes, blinking at the dark room, gasping at the silhouette beside him, until he noticed the red hair and green eyes.

"Oh...hey Pyrrha." The adult grumbled, sitting up to rub his stubbly face. Pyrrha looped some hair behind her ear and bent down before him.

"It's okay Mr Xiao Long. Go on up to bed, better that than sleeping on a couch."

"Nah, I'll sleep too deeply. Gotta be able to hear if Yang needs me." Tai grumbled with lament. "Thank you for caring though. It's good having you all here. I haven't heard my sunny little dragon laugh in so long."

"Mmm, Yang does seem to be much more chipper with her team here."

"Yeah. Just glad everyone stayed. I know a'lotta kids called it quits. Well, fair play to you kids for staying together and strong." Tai groaned as he stood up, rolling his shoulders back to crack the tension in his back. "I'm gonna make a cuppa coffee. You kids want anything?"

"No thank you, we're just going off to bed." Pyrrha knelt as Zwei padded over in seek of affection, the Nikos girl all too happy to oblige. "Aww, he's affectionate."

"Ah! Tss! Zwei, come here!" Tai snapped his fingers. "Leave her alone."

"Oh no, it's okay! I love dogs. My parents used to have a Mistrali retriever."

"Oh wow. Big dog." Tai chuckled as he flicked the kettle on, yawning into his palm.

"Mmm, he was all bark and no bite though." Pyrrha giggled as a memory filled her mind. "He used to get scared of hot air balloons, if I recall."

"Yeah, Zwei's not fond of em either, are ya pal?" Tai bent down as the little dog rubbed against his leg. "What was he called?" Tai asked Pyrrha, still high on the afterglow of her memories.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, his name was..." She snorted as Tai scoffed.

"W-What?"

"Well, don't judge but Mother and Father let me name him...and I hasten to add, I was five at the time."

"C'mon!" Tai chuckled, stroking Zwei as Jaune finished unpacking the grocery bag in the kitchen, grinning over Tai. Pyrrha bit her lip and shrugged.

"Polkey."

"P-Polkey?" Tai snorted.

"He had dark spots of fur, like polka-dots!" Pyrrha shrugged, blushing. Jaune smiled adoringly at her, setting the bag of gummy worms and cookies on the counter, scrunching up the plastic bag to throw in the recycling.

"Well, I can't talk. My first dog, when I was a kid, I called grapes." Tai shrugged, scratching under Zwei's chin to get his back leg thumping.

"Grapes?"

"Well yeah, my Dad used to say that "People like grapes." I wanted people to like my dog. Sound logic, really." Tai chuckled as Pyrrha smiled at the warm moment.

"Grapes is a lovely name."

"Kettle's boiled, Mister Xiao Long." Jaune said as he put a spoonful of coffee into his mug and a splash of milk. "Sugar?"

"Oh one please. Thanks...Jaune, right?"

"Yeah. Jaune Arc."

"Ah, sorry. I'm awful at names." Taiyang stood, rubbing the back of his blonde head.

"It's okay. So am I at times." Jaune shrugged, pouring the boiled water into the cup, hot steam rising to almost scold his nostrils on the inhale. With a stir and tap of the spoon, he handed the mug to the older man.

"Thanks Jaune. Oh! While you're both here, there's something I wanted to ask...while you're here over the weekend that is."

"What is it?" Pyrrha crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. Tai bit his lip.

"Well, I've been trying to get Yang outta the house a bit. She's cheered up immensely tonight, I mean...listen." He nodded to the ceiling, as murmured chatter and laughter filled the house. "She needs her friends, but the stubborn goof won't listen. What I'm asking is..." he sighed and pulled up a stool at the breakfast island in the kitchen, nodding to the other two. Pyrrha and Jaune sat down.

"Pyrrha, you're a world renowned fighter. Jaune, you're an Arc. You grew up in the Arcadian mountains, right?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah."

"Well...Yang's lost a'lotta strength being cooped up here."

"Yes, she did look...thinner." Pyrrha shrugged, itching her cheek. Tai nodded.

"Ironwood dropped off a gift for her earlier this week. She refuses to touch it. That box on her desk upstairs? It's a new arm. State of the art. It'll give her a chance, to keep her dream alive!" Tai begged as only a Father could. "She doesn't want to have to wear it, but sad part is...she has to. I was wondering if...while you're here, you wouldn't mind helping me train her." He asked Pyrrha, her eyes widening.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. And Jaune, you've got a good noggin on your shoulders." He tapped his head for further incentive. "Help me convince her that wearing it will get her back out there. With all her friends here, she'll listen, I know it!"

"I..." Pyrrha looked at Jaune and he shrugged. "We...would be honored to help our friend."

Tai breathed out heavily and smiled softly to them.

"Thanks. I...I owe you kids." He drummed his fingers into the porcelain of his mug. "I want her to be able to move on from all...this."

"Yeah. Don't we all." Pyrrha smiled sadly.

...

Jaune opened the door to Yang's room, peering in as the group was all sat in a circle, blankets over their legs, swapping stories. Yang wore a beaming smile as her lilac eyes flit from friend to friend, as Nora took to a dramatic and exaggerated retelling of how she took down a Nevermore during the Battle of Beacon.

"There were twelve of them!" Nora exclaimed.

"It was one." Ren corrected, sipping his cocoa.

"And then one of them looked dead at me...it recognized me!" Nora grinned.

"I'm...fairly certain you don't know a Nevermore." Ren smirked.

"So, it lunged for me, and I beat it to the punch!" She smacked her fist into her palm with a loud thump. "Bang! I hit it's head so hard it cracked like an egg! Then the body fell and killed fourteen Ursas!"

"I don't think I even need to correct that, it's so far fetched-"

"It happened Ren! Then, I just stared at the other eleven and they burst into flames." Nora cackled. Ren chuckled into his cup.

"Didn't feel like keeping up the facade?" Ren grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him. Jaune shut the door as Pyrrha filed in, throwing the bag of Gummy worms at Nora, and the cookies at Ruby.

"Special delivery." He grinned. The sugar duo cackled at their new desserts, until Ren took Nora's from her hands, and Weiss took the cookies from Ruby.

"Aww!" they both pouted. "No fair!"

"You hush. You, Jaune Arc, should know better!" Weiss scolded. "Giving them sugar at this hour is not a good idea." The Heiress crossed her arms. "I need my beauty sleep, you know."

"Yeah ya do." Yang smirked as Weiss frowned at her. Jaune sat on his sleeping bag by Yang's desk, looking up at the box on it. He sighed and looked at Pyrrha, who gave him a warm smile of encouragement, her mind however swimming with how their talk practically changed nothing. Frustration was not the word...

"Hey, Yang?" Jaune asked.

"What's up, Vomit boy?" Yang grinned, and Jaune had never been so glad to hear that name.

"That box. It's a gift from Ironwood, right?"

"Uh huh." Yang's smile dropped.

"What is it?" He asked. He knew. They didn't. Time to help her heal...whether she wanted to or not.

"Dad told you, huh?" Yang sighed, standing up and brushing herself off with her hand, stepping over Weiss and Blake, grabbing the box and sitting down next to Jaune, between him and Pyrrha. She huffed and took the lid off, revealing the pristine shiny silver limb. The room all gasped and gaped.

"Oh wow! Ironwood gave you a Spectre-Eleven arm modification?" Weiss asked with a skeptical rise in her voice. Everyone in the room looked at her with a mirroring set of raised brows. "What? I'm knowledgeable with the latest Atlesian technology, thank you very much." The Schnee frowned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah...I don't want it though." Yang mumbled. Both teams snapped their eyes to Yang. Jaune took this as his cue, hugging his knees, shuffling closer to his blonde buddy.

"Why's that?" Jaune asked. Yang shrugged, worrying her lip as she looked at the silver arm in her lap. "Oh, they didn't give you a left one by mistake did they, cos I got two left feet - you've seen me dance, don't deny it."

"Sh-Shut up." Yang chuckled, shoving the blonde boy gently. She sobered softly and lilac eyes met sapphire. "It's not... _me_." She frowned, pushing the box further down her legs.

"Of course it's not. But...I mean, what _is_ you, Yang?" Jaune asked, Yang raising a brow. "Is this you? Sitting and wasting away in your room, looking outside for the rest of your life? Cos that's not the Yang Xiao Long I know. No, the Yang we know is a fighter. A tough Brawler, whose given me more dead arms and dead legs than my sisters ever did, combined!"

Yang smiled lightly as she looked back at the box, gingerly looping her five digits over the lip and dragging it back up to her thighs. She bit her lip and hesitantly picked it up out the box. The cold steel met her fingers and startled her, but it quickly warmed under her hot blooded skin.

"We miss you. I miss..." Jaune huffed and wrapped an arm around the Brawler's shoulder, guiding her head down onto his shoulder, something he would have been afraid to do not long ago. Yang smiled at the caring gesture. "I miss my sister."

Yang looked up at him with wide eyes. "Si-Sister?"

"You mean more to us than you think." Jaune poked the metal arm she was holding. "Goes both ways too."

Yang set the arm back in the box and sighed heavily. Not sadly though. Almost as if a weight had been lifted. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"That's all we're asking." Jaune gave her a gentle squeeze, before letting go. Yang caught his arm and quickly threw it back over her shoulder, blushing as she gulped.

"D-Don't. Not yet anyway." Yang blinked at the group. Jaune nodded to Blake and she shuffled closer to Yang, looping her arm over Jaune's, holding Yang on her other side. Blake's jet black hair contrasted well with the yellow as both their heads bumped together softly.

Pyrrha laid a gentle hand on Jaune's shoulder. Their eyes met, hers full of warmth and compassion, before she retreated to her sleeping bag and nestled in for the night. Ruby lay in front of her sister, hugging her around the waist and settling her head comfortingly into Yang's stomach, under the swell of her chest. Weiss turned in for the night herself, into her own fur lined bag, closing her eyes.

"Good night everyone." Weiss murmured.

"Good night." Pyrrha hummed from her own bag. Ren zipped Nora's up to her chin and settled into his own in the corner.

"Yes. Sleep well." Ren murmured. Jaune smiled and closed his eyes, holding Yang between he and Blake, Ruby hugging her waist. To say Yang felt loved in this moment was an understatement. Blake breathed gently in her sleep, cat ears flicking every now and then. Yang's lilac eyes opened in the darkened room, looking at the box on the floor off to the side, the uncovered arm on show. Her hand rested on Ruby's hair in her lap, gently stroking as she smiled and closed her eyes, mind made up.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Aww! Fluff! Yay! Please review, I always read them, and love the kind words you feed me! Take care my friends, and see you next time! - Dave**


	6. Trying Again

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry about the gap between chapters. Moving house was exhausting, and been busy with that and such. But, here is the next chapter. Hope it's okay, I rewrote this one like five times, and I'm still not totally pleased with it. But, we all get chapter's we're not pleased with, no matter what. Anyway! Enjoy! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Six: Trying Again**

 **...**

Peeking her head around the corner, bright blue eyes narrowed and flitting left to right, Eryka grinned devilishly. "Psst! Coast is clear, Agent Frosty. Over."

"Okay Eryka, thank you." Winter's voice deadpanned, Eryka rolling her eyes with exasperation.

"You didn't use my code-name."

"I'm not using the code-name." Winter's voice dryly answered. "Stop kicking me, I'm not saying it!"

"Hey, you're the military gal, I can't believe they haven't drummed that sorta thing into you." Eryka shrugged, yelping as she quickly hid behind the corner of the wall as one of the night staff paced down the hallway, out of sight.

"Okay, you novice, number one: You don't have to say "over" when I am literally stood next to you! Number two: I am not using your code name."

"Saaaaaaay it." Eryka stuck her head out around the corner, checking the hall leading to Goodwitch's office. Winter growled lowly, clenched teeth squeaking as they grated together. "Say it."

"No."

"Urgh, you are the definition of boring. If I looked up "Boring" in the dictionary, the-

"Yes yes, I've heard this all before from my siblings. "In the dictionary, there will be a picture of me next to it" Yes ha ha, very funny." Winter rolled her eyes.

"No. I dunno about you, but my dictionaries don't have pictures in them." Eryka dryly retorted. "So, tell me Wints, with your vocabulary books, are they all picture books? Ooh! Do they have pop up pictures?! Are you okay? Why are you breathing like that?"

"Just...trying to...calm...high blood pressure." Winter panted slowly. "Let's just get this over with, is it clear?"

"Yep! Has been for ages, but _somebody_ wouldn't use my code name!"

"Stop it, you boob!" Winter smacked Eryka on the back of the head, the Vasilias girl whining and rubbing the affected spot. Winter poked her head around the corner, before stepping into the hall, briskly pacing to the locked office door.

"So, how'd you get Goodwitch's keys?"

"I have a spare set she gave me, for security reasons, et cetera."

"Ah yeah, security. Cos nothing's more secure than handing out keys to everyone! You get a key! You get a key! Everybody gets a ke-Mmph!" Winter's hand quickly squeezed over Eryka's ever moving lips.

"Please...for my health...silence." Winter whispered, before slowly letting her hand peel off of Eryka's lips. Winter turned back to flicking through the array of keys, mumbling to herself, before she found the correct one, slipping it into the slot and turning it slowly. A loud click echoed down the hall, signally that the door was unlocked.

"Yes!" Eryka grinned. "Open it open it, let's get outta this hall!" Eryka pushed Winter's shoulders, the Schnee's eyelid twitching, a blue vein stretching along her brow. Winter opened the door and stepped in cautiously, her military background causing her to check her corners, to keep her feet light and her wits crisp.

"Boom! This is a swanky office, man!" Eryka bowled in, humming to herself as she began rummaging through drawers. Winter stood in disgraced awe, eyes wide at the Vasilias girl.

"Am I going to have to remove your tongue?" Winter shut the door softly, Eryka throwing a folder over her shoulder onto the desk. "Eryka, stop it!"

"What's this? Files on students? Hmmm..."

"Eryka, no! We're not here to look through every student's personal information!" The white haired Schnee ripped the folders out of the blue topped girl's hands.

"Riiiight. We're here to look through Goodwitch's!"

"Oh this is a very bad idea. Why? Why did I ever listen to you?" Winter asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. Eryka shrugged, stepping around the desk and using her wide hips to nudge the wheeled chair aside. She bent over, going through the drawers, before raising an eyebrow. Winter paused her annoyed snarl to raise her own brow.

"Well...this is interesting."

"W-What? What could it possibly be-"

"Jaymes Ickford file. But it's not in the cabinet over there." Eryka slapped the heavy file onto the desk. "Also, why is she still using files and paper? She understands all this would fit onto a tiny hard drive, right?"

"Some people prefer to keep notes on parchment. Lest they get downloaded or hacked, hmm?" Winter raised her brow at Eryka, before looping a fallen lock behind her ear and gingerly opening the file. Eryka leaned her palms into the desk, arching her back to crack the tension out.

"Lovely noises for a spine to make." Winter quipped.

"Lovely noises for a spine to make." Eryka rolled her eyes, lathering her voice in childish mocking tones. Winter huffed and looked up at the Vasilias.

"How very childish." Winter shook her head.

"How very childish."

"I'm ignoring you now."

"I'm ignoring you now."

"Ery...wait, what?"

"What's wrong?" Eryka asked, sudden worry in her voice as she leaned over to see. Her eyes scanned the file, bulging out of her head. "Wait...really?"

"What in the name of Remnant is going on here?!"

Both the women looked up over the desk to the open door, to the blonde haired Professor, tapping her foot impatiently and staring irascibly at the duo over her glasses.

"Busted." Eryka huffed, Winter gulping and slapping her face into her palm.

...

Pyrrha woke up first, blinking as the world blearily came into focus. Or...the world being Yang's room, and a face full of golden hair. She smiled and hummed, shuffling closer, burying her face in the soft golden tresses as sunlight illuminated them like a rickle of treasure.

"Mmm, morning Jaune." She beamed, taking a deep inhale of the messy locks.

"Morning, P-money." Yang murmured, lifting her head, Pyrrha feeling the trove of woven hair lift away from her face. Lilac and emerald eyes met, though those green eyes suddenly began to shrink with shock. "Sorry to disappoint'cha!"

"Ah!" Pyrrha reeled away, tumbling out of her sleeping bag. Yang snorted and laughed, waking Blake and Jaune.

"Mmm...so soft." The Arc boy blinked and blearily opened his eyes, humming as he stroked the cat ears, enjoying the purring...wait, cat ears?

Blake's golden eyes snapped wide as did Jaune's, both having curled up together in the night. "AH!" They both shouted, rolling away from each other.

"Oh for...Excuse me, but I am trying to sleep!" Weiss sat up, pulling her sleep mask off of her eyes, looking down at the mass of black and red currently coiled around her stomach. "Wah? Ruby!"

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, sitting up sharply, silver eyes wide. Weiss frowned, deepening the expression when Ruby grabbed her elasticated mask off of her brow and snapped it over her cyan blue eyes. "You didn't see anything!" Ruby waved her fingers in front of the now fuming - and blind - Schnee.

Yang yawned and sat up, stretching her arm over her head, blinking away the sleep. Her mass of blonde hair was messier than normal, fresh with severe bed-head. She looked down at the undisturbed Valkyrie, sucking her thumb and still coiled up in her sleeping bag.

"Anyone gonna wake the Nora Burrito over here?" Yang smirked, thumbing to the girl. Ren sat upright, eyes wide, rigid as a board.

"Don't." was all he said, deathly still. "Hell hath no fury like a Nora woken."

"I want breakfast! Which _meeeeaaaannns._.." Ruby saddled up to Ren, begging him with a grin.

"Pancakes." He whispered, admixed with a sigh.

"Pancakes?!" Nora sat bolt upright, wide awake. "Well why didn't ya say so!"

"Aaaand she's awake." Jaune chuckled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He settled his back against Yang's bed, looking over as Pyrrha stretched her arms over her head, pushing her chest out and yawning till her eyes shut. He gulped. _How? How could she look so beautiful literally just stretching?!_

Her emerald eyes opened with a few slow blinks, and her gaze soon found Jaune's. Their cheeks aflame, they looked down at their laps, Pyrrha busying herself with rolling up her sleeping bag.

"Breakfast sounds great actually." Yang stood up. "I've got a whole new appetite all of a sudden!" The blonde picked up the box containing her arm and put it away on her desk, much to Jaune's chagrin. Blake stood and yawned, blinking, her ears flicking about a few times. Her usually well controlled black mane was all over the place, in gravity defying positions.

"I'm hungry." was all the Faunus said. She was never a great morning person. Jaune rose to his feet and offered a hand to Pyrrha, to which she accepted with a grateful smile.

"Ren! Pancakes, pleeeeeaaaase!" Nora bounced eagerly. Ren huffed and nodded, rolling up his sleeping bag before being literally shoved out of the room by a torrent of hungry Valkyrie and Rose. Weiss yawned adorably, a little squeak, as she took off her sleep mask. Stretching her arms out either side of her, she stood up out of her sleeping bag, popping her back as she cricked left and right.

"So, what's the plan for us today?" Weiss asked as Jaune rummaged around in his duffel bag, pulling out a pair of toothbrushes. He handed Pyrrha hers, turning to face Weiss.

"Dunno yet. Any ideas?" Jaune shrugged. The heiress tapped her chin, before having the large fist of Yang Xiao Long punch into her pale skinned shoulder. Weiss hissed and rubbed the affected spot.

"I say we chill, play some games, order pizza. Y'know, teen stuff!" Yang beamed.

"Oh not for you, Yang. We've got plans for you." Jaune said, turning to leave for the bathroom, Pyrrha stood staring at the head of her toothbrush.

"Well _that_ was ominous." Weiss raised an eyebrow, Yang frowning at Pyrrha. That frown quickly shifted to a grin as the one armed brawler stepped up to her Invincible friend.

"Soooo, P-money, how'd last night go?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha snapped up from her daze. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I asked how last night went. I wanna say well, but you and Jaune haven't even said a word to each other yet. Not even a good morning kiss. I mean, I would've thought you'd have your mouths glued together by now."

"Oh no." Weiss face palmed. Pyrrha quirked a sad smile, looking at the toothbrush.

"Not as much as you'd think." She sighed. Yang furrowed her brow.

"But last night...didn't you and lord denseness figure out...whatever the issue is?" Yang shrugged.

"It's not as easy as that, Yang..." Pyrrha smiled lightly. "...but, we did kiss..." biting her lip to hide the grin, her bright green eyes flit up to Yang's. "Aaaand, we've both made it perfectly clear how we feel."

"Well there ya go!" Yang grinned. "That's awesome! So are you two like, official or what?"

"Oh no, we're not together." Pyrrha shook her head. Yang frowned.

"You literally just said you kissed."

"Yes, but we're still figuring ourselves out and moving on from that night." Pyrrha shrugged, pinching the bristles of her brush. Yang huffed, squeezing the bridge of her nose with finger and thumb.

"Just...do it soon, yeah? The sexual tension between you two is killin me." Yang walked over to her chest of drawers, fishing out her orange vest and charcoal grey cargo trousers.

...

Ren - still clad in pajamas, much like the rest of the group - stood in the kitchen, over the stove as he flipped the fourteenth pancake, letting the dough brown either side. Nora was salivating, staring at the humongous stack on the plate. Zwei mirrored her expression, two ears poking up at the lip of the table.

"Wow, gotta say Ren, you go all out." Taiyang tilted his mug of coffee in appreciation. Ren gave a curt nod. "Doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Ah Ren's a man of few words, but he speaks volumes in _Pancakes_!" Nora drooled. Soon the others came hopping merrily down the staircase.

"Good morning Dad!" Ruby pecked Tai's cheek, sitting down next to salivating Nora. "Eww, why's the table wet?"

"Good morning mister Xiao Long. I thank you for your hospitality." Weiss smiled and curtsied. Tai raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair to cross both boots on the table, one arm propped behind his head.

"Polite or what?" Tai thumbed to the Heiress.

"Weiss, my Dad's the last person to appreciate that sorta talk." Ruby deadpanned. Weiss huffed, pinching her brow. The Schnee took a deep inhale.

"Mornin, Tai!" She tried again.

"Mornin, Weiss!" he tilted his mug to her. The Heiress sat down beside Ruby, pulling her stool in at the breakfast island. Blake combed her mane back into a slightly more respectable mess.

"Morning everyone." Blake murmured, sitting opposite Ruby and opening her book. As she looked down at her legs, the head of Zwei popped up between her and the table. "Ah!"

"C'mere Zwei!" Ruby snapped her fingers under the table, quickly picking up the little dog. "Awwww, who's a little cutey?! Mwah!"

"Ruby, don't kiss the dog, we are about to eat!" Weiss sighed. Ruby stuck her tongue out at the Schnee, Zwei mirroring her. The table sat in comfortable silence for a moment, Weiss taking out her scroll to look through her emails, Ruby playing with Zwei and Blake happily reading. Blake looked up over her book at the tattoo on Tai's arm. She cleared her throat.

"Umm...what inspired your tattoo, Mister Xiao Long?" Blake asked. Tai looked at his arm and shrugged, giving her a smile.

"Call me Tai, kiddo; aaand, that's my emblem." he bobbed his shoulders, taking his feet off the table and leaning his chair back forward. "Any of you kids got tattoos?"

"No." Weiss looked shocked at the accusation.

"Nope." Blake shrugged.

"Uh uh." Nora shook her head.

"Good. Should hope not at your age." Tai smirked into his cup. The stairs creaked as Pyrrha and Jaune descended, murmuring between one another, before the Nikos hushed him, smiling brightly to the table.

"Goooood morning all!" Pyrrha beamed. She sat down beside Weiss, arms crossing on the table, quick to retract them. "Eww. Why is the table wet?"

Jaune stood over by Ren, pouring two cups of orange juice. Ren smiled and turned back to the pancakes he was cooking, as Jaune took both glasses over to the table, setting one down before Pyrrha.

"Here ya go."

"Oh, thank you!" She beamed brightly.

"What gives, Jaune?" Ruby frowned. "We not good enough for juice, that it?"

"I uhh..." He huffed and walked back over to the fridge. Ruby grinned and Weiss smirked, both fist bumping each other. Pyrrha took a swig of juice, the cool and tangy liquid hitting the back of her throat.

"So...the plan today everyone..." Pyrrha started, looking at Tai. His eyes widened and he nodded.

"Yeah, I uhh, I asked Pyrrha to help me beat Yang into shape." he shrugged.

"Oh. B-But, she won't wear her arm, Dad." Ruby mumbled. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Probably staying in her room." Tai mumbled, sighing heavily as he eyed Pyrrha. "I'm sorry Pyrrha, it was a waste of time asking for your help-

"No, actually. She's having a shower." Weiss smiled proudly. Tai's eyes widened.

"Y-You guys...got through to her?"

"Sometimes, Tai..." Blake lowered her book and smiled softly to him. "Us teens don't listen to our parents. Sometimes we need someone our own age to tell us how it is."

"Makes sense." Tai smiled. "I owe all of you so much."

"We're just helping our friend. You owe us nothing." Pyrrha smiled over her glass.

"Yeah! Zilch!" Nora exclaimed. Weiss sighed, dropping her cheek into her propped palm.

"I just hope she gets to grips with her arm. She's got the best replacement available, and I know, it's not the real thing, but...it's an arm, isn't it?" Weiss shrugged. "I don't know. Our team's incomplete without her...and, more importantly, we miss her."

"Mmm. It's not the same without her." Blake sighed heavily, a downtrodden look in her eyes. Jaune set a glass of juice in front of her, followed by Nora, Ruby and Weiss.

"Thanks Jaune!" Ruby beamed, head thrown all the way back to see him. Jaune grinned and grabbed her in a gentle headlock, playfully knuckling her head. "Ah! Dad, make him stop!"

Jaune let go, chuckling at her stuck out tongue as he sat beside Pyrrha. Tai thoughtfully looked at the table of friends gathered to help their comrade, and he beamed at them.

Then the stairs creaked. Humming a happy tune, Hair tied back into a bushy ponytail of gold, Yang happily trotted down the stairs, all of their eyes widening with glee at the cybernetic arm firmly in place at her right elbow.

"Morning guys!" She cheerily smiled. They all gaped at the new Yang, or...the old Yang. Happy, lilac eyes filled with that constant mirth and cheeriness.

"Yang! Y-You're...I..." Tai stood in front of his daughter, stammering. Yang shrugged, looking at her robotic appendage with a frown.

"I still hate it, but..." She smiled at her dad. "I can make it mine."

Tai hugged her, kissing her hair as he joyfully grinned into his Daughter's crown.

"I love you, Sunny dragon."

"Love you too, Dad." She hugged him back. "But uhh...my friends are all here."

"Right!" Tai quickly let go, clearing his throat. Ren set the final stack of pancakes down and sat next to Nora, huffing.

"Dig in guys." Ren said, as Nora quickly grabbed a handful of pancakes, slapping them on her plate. "Quickly too." He frowned at his best friend. Pyrrha took a pancake onto her plate and poured a dollop of syrup onto it. In her own little world, she didn't notice Jaune's apologetic smile, as he gave her knee a gentle squeeze of thanks for last night and her understanding.

Instead she gasped and her leg shot up into the underside of the table with a loud bang, the plates jumping with a clatter.

"Jeez! You alright?" Yang asked as she down at the table, reaching across the table with her cybernetic hand. She frowned as she tried to move the fingers, finding them very much unresponsive. "W-Wait, is it...do I...huh?"

"Ah, yes...I-I'm fine." Pyrrha laughed meekly, rubbing her knee under the table. Jaune winced as she frowned at him.

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to jump like that!" He whispered, taking his own pancake onto his plate. Pyrrha grumbled and rubbed the affected area, thanking the gods for Aura. Yang continued to get angrier with her lack of control over her metal fingers, shaking the arm like a plaything.

"So, I was thinking Weiss, we could...take Zwei for a walk later. Sound fun?!" Ruby asked brightly, eyes flitting to Yang occasionally and her worrying erratic movements.

"It does actually. Yes. We'll do that." Weiss smiled, tucking her scroll into her pajama pocket. A loud clatter alerted the table to Yang banging her arm on the counter.

"C-Come on!" Yang yelled as her hand stayed in a fist. "Work, dammit!"

"Yang, you-"

 _BANG! CRASH!_

"Grr! This thing sucks! This is pointless and stupid! I should never have taken it out that box, I hate it!" She fumbled with the connector at her elbow, trying to rapidly take it off. Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to undo it. "It's not my arm, and I want my arm back!"

The group all paused their chewing to look at her with soft empathy. Her frantic attempts to get it off grew even more needy, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ruby winced and gingerly reached for her sister over the table, jerking her arm back at Yang's desperate thrashing and hyperventilating.

"W-Why won't it work? Why me?! I-It's not me, and I hate it, I hate it! I...I don't want it!" Yang sniffed, still panicking as she tried to take the stubborn limb off to no avail. "Dad, I-I can't get it off! I want it off!" She held the arm out to him, sobbing. "I-I don't want it!"

"Hey hey, Yang, calm down, honey." He gently cradled her cheeks. "Take a deep breath."

Yang tried to quell her sniffling and hyperventilating. Lilac eyes filled with watery upset looked at her also upset Dad. She shook her metal arm, rattling it at him with a begging in her eyes that just killed him. He sighed heavily and eventually undid the clasp on her arm, slipping the appendage off. Yang immediately got up and ran upstairs, heavy footfalls rapidly climbing the house.

Silence. The room was eerily quiet as the teens all sat in reticence. Tai stared at the metal limb in his hand, before his hand paled with tightness, his teeth gritted, and he launched the arm at the trashcan. He too stormed off, shoving the front door open and walking outside, running his fingers through his hair. They watched him pace back and forth through the glass pane, until he dropped to his knees, hands held over his eyes.

"Well..." Jaune coughed into his fist. "That sucked." He dropped his fork onto his plate heavily, running his hands over his face with a loud groan. Ruby got up, pushing her chair out and made for the staircase.

"Indeed." Pyrrha murmured, dropping her cheek to squish into her propped palm. Even Nora poked her fork at her pancake, sighing heavily. Weiss got up, padding over to the trashcan, reaching in with a grimace and pulling out the silver arm, gagging as she swiped a banana skin off of it.

"Unbelievable." Weiss scoffed. The collective group gasped at her.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha held a hand over her heart. Ruby growled at the Heiress, who shrugged.

"There are injured people in Vale who would kill for this! No. No. I'm going to talk to her."

"If you dare!" Ruby stepped in front of the Schnee, growling, silver eyes flaring. "...if you dare upset her...s-say anything to make her cry...I...I-I'll..."

"Ruby..." Weiss sighed softly, placing a hand on the Rose's shoulder. "Come with me." She nodded to the staircase. Ruby blinked, but soon followed the Schnee as she climbed the staircase. Ren sighed heavily, standing up and taking the uneaten pancakes onto a single plate.

"We can eat the rest later, I suppose." He huffed, placing them on the kitchen counter. Blake bit her lip and closed her eyes tight, before opening them with newfound determination. The brave Belladonna rose to her feet, pacing around the door frame, grasping the banister on her way up the stairs. JNPR sat on their own, listening to the murmurs upstairs.

"So! H-How are you two?" Nora gulped, the wincing smile on her face portraying she already knew the answer. "T-Together-togeth-

"I'm going to go get changed." Pyrrha sighed, getting up out of her seat. Jaune's eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"Well, I brought my training gear with me, so I'm going to train. Go for a run. Clear my head a little bit." She huffed, gripping the architrave lightly. Nora stood up, beaming.

"Sweet! Oooh! We can make a day out of it! I-

"Alone...would be preferable." Pyrrha grumbled, before solemnly leaving the kitchen. Nora, downtrodden at the response, sniffed and stormed out of the kitchen into the living room.

"Well, this has been one great big disaster, huh?" Jaune scoffed, shaking his head to the ceiling. Ren nodded, looking at the doorway to the living room. He looked back at Jaune, mouth opening to ask-

"Go after her." Jaune deadpanned, Ren nodding curtly and disappearing into the living room, leaving Jaune on his own in the kitchen. He looked down at Zwei, the dog panting and wagging his tail. "Ah, at least you'll stay with me bud-

The dog instantly turned and trotted out of the kitchen.

"-dy...Nope. Sweet. Okay. I'll err...I'll just be here if anyone needs me." Jaune sarcastically spat at himself, before getting up from the table and leaving the room.

...

Weiss rapped her knuckles on the door, the response coming in the form of the lock twisting with a mechanical click. Ruby sighed and raked her fingers through her red tipped locks. Weiss, firming her upper lip, knocked on the door again.

"Leave me alone!" Yang shouted, the rejected Schnee huffing and pinching the bridge of her nose. Blake stepped closer to the door, lightly knocking her knuckles against the wood.

"Didn't you want pizza aaand...to hang out today?" The Faunus' soft tones tried to be chipper, a plastic smile on her face, quick to melt into a frown. "Yang...please let us in."

"Guys...please." Yang sniffed. "I'm all broken...a-and useless...you need...you need to get a new team mate. It's over for me."

RWB gasped among themselves. Weiss softened, welkin blue eyes filled with hurt. Ruby however, leaped at the door, hammering away without rhythm with her knuckles in quick fire bursts.

"Yaaaaaang! Yang let us in!" Ruby yelled as she assaulted the door, Blake lowering her chin to her collarbones, hugging her upper arms. "Please..." Ruby begged, the pounding on the door melting into weakening pats. "Pleeeaaase." Ruby slid down till her knees knocked against the floorboards, forehead pressed into the door.

Silence reigned for what felt like forever. In reality, only a brief few seconds had past, before the lock on the door unlocked. The collective eyes of RWB glanced to one another, before Ruby wasted no time in clambering to her feet and pushing the door open. Yang was still walking back to her bed when her fractured team stumbled in.

"We're not giving up on you. Never in a million years!" Ruby whispered, afraid if her voice were any higher it would crack and tumble, a torrent of tears following. Blake nodded, stepping around Ruby gently, a hand smoothing along her shoulder on the pass.

"The only way to truly heal our wounds, isn't time. It's surrounding yourself with people who love you. People who would..." Blake bit her lip, shutting her eyes tight. "D-Die for you." She hoarsely whispered with a crackling to her tones. "You all taught me that. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I'd have...run off somewhere, on my own."

Yang looked up at her partner and sighed, sitting heavily on her bed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Weiss however, frowned and set the cybernetic limb down on Yang's legs. Yang growled and flicked it off onto the floor with a clatter, much to the Schnee's chagrin.

"Yang!"

"Stop it, Weiss!" Yang shouted, instinctively going to cross her arms, the limb tumbling and falling into her lap. She frowned harder and her lilac eyes watered slightly. "Like I said, it's over for me. You guys need...you need to look after yourselves. You need a new teammate." Ruby shook her head, her silver eyes brimming. Blake too sniffed, cat ears flicking. "Who knows...maybe Goodwitch'll find you someone whose name begins with a Y. Saves changing the team name, I guess." The broken brawler mumbled.

"That's _not_ going to happen, Yang!" Ruby threw her fists down by her hips. "We're a team!" She sniffed and whimpered, eyes streaming admix hiccuping gasps. "No...w-we're a family! Y-You're my sister, Yang! Weiss, y-you're my sister, Blake, you're my sister too! I love you guys, and I don't want it to end because of this!" She cried, sobbing openly into her hands. Blake comforted her the best she could, patting the young leader's shoulder.

Weiss simply stared at Yang.

"What, ice Queen?" Yang frowned at her. Weiss scowled back, equally. She bent down and picked up the arm.

"Let's try this again. You're going to put it on-"

"Like hell-"

"YES YOU ARE! Not for you, not for me, not for Blake, but for your sister!" Weiss snapped, eyes scarily seething. "We care about you, Yang, don't you get it?! I don't..." Weiss huffed, looking back at Yang with a different gleam in her eyes, calming herself down. "This really isn't easy for me...speaking from the..." Weiss swallowed thickly, gesturing to her heart.

Yang stared solemnly at her knees, a icy, gooey guilt settling in her gut as Ruby sniffed, wiping her eyes, beginning to calm from her bout of tears. She looked back at Weiss as the Schnee sat beside her on the bed, the feather light girl barely indenting the mattress. Weiss sat her hands atop her thighs, biting her lip.

"I have two siblings. Winter and Whitley. I adore Winter, but I never see her. And Whitley? He hates me. And I can say I'm not overly fond of him. My family is wealthy, but it seems to think money can fill the holes in relationships. My mother...she drinks. A lot. She thinks I don't see it, but I'm not a fool. And my Father? Well. Let's just say he doesn't like to lose..."

The team all looked at Weiss as she finally opened up in a way they had never seen before. Swiping a fallen lock of snow behind her ear, Weiss sucked her lip and carried on.

"...growing up in an environment like that, where the only time I felt cared for was when Winter would visit, was hell. I know...I can be a hard person to deal with. For that, I'm...s-sorry." She forced the word out, like saying it was poison to her lips. "I don't mean to be, but it's a part of me that I'm trying so hard to beat out. It's thanks to you, my team that I've gotten better in that respect."

Yang looked at Weiss, a lop sided smile gently creasing her features.

"Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover, huh?" Yang shrugged, voice low. Weiss smiled at her lightly, pinching the fabric of her baggy pajama pants. "I'm...missing a part of me, Weiss. A part of me is gone, and it's never coming back."

"I know." Weiss said softly, sitting cross legged on the bed to face Yang, looping messy hair behind her ear. "What happened to you won't heal like our injuries will, and it's...it's not fair." Weiss frowned. Yang nodded, looking at her legs, and the arm on the edge of the bed. "I have a scar."

"Huh?" Yang raised a brow. Weiss shrugged.

"I know it's nowhere near the same. But, I do." Weiss bobbed her shoulders once more, running her index finger down the length of her facial scar. "I hated it. I thought it was ugly, and it made me very self conscious for a long time. I still hate it...but then somebody told me I looked beautiful for it...unique even. Hearing that, changed the way I felt about it, truly!" Weiss smiled to herself, Yang raising her brow, startling slightly as Blake sat beside her, Ruby beside Weiss.

"So...what are you saying, Weiss?" Yang shrugged, licking her lips. Weiss blew out a breath, welkin eyes meeting lilac.

"You can embrace your...cuts, your scars, your marks, your missing limbs. You have so much to give still, so much to live..." Weiss picked up the arm, licking her lips. "...please, just...try again. Because I don't want my friend to give up their dreams over this." Weiss said, her voice so strained, so kind.

"I got stabbed." Blake shrugged, itching her cheek, Yang looking at her with watery eyes, Blake taking her hand and giving it a squeeze admix a small smile. "I'm okay. But, I did. See?" Blake lifted her baggy white top, showing toned pale flesh, and a paler spot of hardened weaved tissue. She let the top drop back down to the hem of her black pajama pants. "It's ugly...and a reminder of what happened. For that, I hate it too. But it's...it's there. It's a part of me now."

Blake picked up the silver arm from Weiss' palms, looking it over, golden eyes flicking to Yang's. "Out of all of us, You've suffered the most, Yang."

"Blake." Yang breathed, leaning her head into the warm Faunus' shoulder. Blake rested her head atop Yang's, sighing contently. "I'm sorry. I should've...I could've...I should've done something differently!" Yang growled at herself. Blake hushed her.

"I look back at that night and see a thousand different outcomes, different paths..." Blake tilted her head back up, cradling Yang's face in her palms. "But when you're in that moment, all of those paths aren't there. You just...do what you feel is right, whether it is or it isn't. I got run through with a blade, and it led to you losing your arm."

"I just...I saw red, Blake. I was scared...and angry...I was afraid. Afraid I was going to lose my partner...my best friend." Yang sniffed, her eyes swimming with emotion. Blake smiled and hugged the blonde tightly.

"I thought the same."

Yang huffed heavily, deflating her bravado. She sucked her lip, before taking the prosthetic into her hands. Lilac irises flit back and forth over the alien arm, before setting it down on the bed and standing from the mattress...

...

Pyrrha tugged her spandex shorts up her legs in the bathroom, frowning the whole time. Smoothing her crimson red vest down her curves, and tying her hair up into a ponytail, she stared in the mirror, her frown growing all the more. She needed to just get out for a little while. On her own. Just burn her frustrations out of her body, feel that familiar burn of her muscles, feel the lactic acid pump like poison in her aching muscles.

She exited the bathroom across from Yang's room, pausing for a brief moment to listen to the tearful conversation between a fractured team. The whimpering talks only fueled her state further, Pyrrha blowing out a shaky breath and briskly walking down the stairs. Why? Why did this have to happen to them? Why did any of what transpired happen to them?

Pyrrha trotted down the steps bare footed, running shoes pinched between fingers and thumb. Red hair bouncing voluminously behind her, she bounded the last steps and padded into the kitchen, looping a fallen vermilion lock behind her ear. Sitting at a chair, she pulled her shoes onto her dainty feet, tying the laces with a moody expression. Pyrrha very rarely frowned. She very rarely got angry. Recently though, it had been an almost daily experience. Along with depressing bouts of self loathing, and pining after her Blonde Knight who was making it very hard to move on from that night, she found that her smiles had lessened, and her scowls had exceeded.

She huffed and stood from the chair, shoving her scroll into her pocket and unlocking the back door. Lost in her thoughts, almost stepping on Zwei, staggering into the kitchen counter and possibly bruising her hip, she hissed and bit her lip, even more desperate to get out into the fresh air.

A sense of freedom washed over her, taking in a deep inhale of the crisp morning air, cold burning her lungs. Dull green eyes brightened exuberantly at the wide open land, the cooling licks of wind to her pale arms. Pyrrha loved to be outside, she truly did. To feel free, not trapped within four walls. A small smile graced her lips, stretching her arms up over her head.

 _CHOP!_

Pyrrha paused, mid stretch, opening an eye to the sound. She scanned her surroundings, finding nothing but the house blocking the rising sun, and the luminescent woodland.

 _CHOP!_

Pyrrha huffed, hands on her hips as once again the sound startled her. She stared at the treeline ahead, before turning back to the house. The curiosity biting at the back of her mind got the better of her, padding around the front of the house, squinting at the sudden brightness of the beating sun. She shielded her eyes with her arm, adjusting her vision to the grass-less clearing before the house.

 _CHOP!_

A grunt accompanied the sharp splitting clunk, Pyrrha raising a brow to match her frown. The Vincible Girl paced briskly around the front porch, turning at the corner to see where the sound was coming from. Her eyes widened and her face grew hot.

Crocea Mors was leaning against the house and it's matching shield, a jet black Pumpkin Pete's hoodie draped over the top. A stack of split logs lay in a heap, the sweet aroma of freshly cut wood filling Pyrrha's nasals. Her blush deepened at the shirtless blonde knight, gripping a long wood Axe to his hip. Weathered jeans led up to a loose leather belt, then nothing but slowly tanning skin.

Her training regime for Jaune had paid off, before her was the evidence that he'd stuck to it even in her absence. His arms weren't the limp noodles they used to be. His chest had broadened, puffy pectorals and abs rippling like pebbles under tight silk. His skin glistened with sweat, taking on a slight reddish hue as the rising sun grew hotter and hotter.

Jaune balanced a block of wood on the stump and lifted the axe up over his head, driving it down to skim the edge of said block and send it skipping off a few feet away. He groaned and dropped the axe, rolling his shoulders. Pyrrha bit her lip, quelling the flood of blood to her cheeks, turning to walk back around the house, out of sight.

"Hey." Jaune mumbled, Pyrrha stopping in her tracks and peering back around the house's corner. He picked up the astray block, setting it onto the stump. He looked up at her, a slight heave to his labored breaths. Pyrrha smiled weakly, rubbing an itch behind her ear.

"Hello." She said, bouncing on her toes. "I umm, I was just going to go for a run."

"Oh. Okay." Jaune shrugged, swinging the axe up above his head and chopping down into the wood.

 _CHOP!_

"Why are you chopping wood?" Pyrrha asked, wringing her hands. Jaune swiped rivulets of sweat from his brow.

"Tai was gonna cut some for the fire tonight. What with this morning, I figured I should help out in some way." Jaune mumbled, downcast, picking up the sliced blocks and throwing them onto the small pile.

"How thoughtful." Pyrrha smiled genuinely. Jaune nodded, picking up another block and setting it on the stump. "I guess I will see you later-

"We're all broken, aren't we?" Jaune said with a crack in his voice. Pyrrha froze, her eyes wide on him as he swung the axe up over his head and brought it down heavily on the block.

 _CHOP!_

He sniffed and let the axe drop to the grass with a dull thud, looking up at her with such torn emotion in his blues, like the fragments of a shattered mirror, reflecting his warped ardour. She could see in his actions that he wanted to help no matter what, it was Jaune's nature, even if it was as simple as chopping firewood. But at the same time she could see the dulling light in his eyes almost go out completely.

"We...are a seriously broken bunch." he scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. He bent down and scooped up his white Tee, sliding it over his rippling muscles, much to Pyrrha's chagrin. "I really...deluded myself into thinking we were on the straight and narrow, you know? Like...what, Yang was just gonna wake up, slap on the arm and everything'd go back to the way it was? That Blake got stabbed, but hey, it's all fine now, no worries!" He lashed out, kicking his shield across the dusty front yard. Pyrrha flinched back at his shocking movements.

"How the..." He bit his lip. "How did I get through that experience without a scratch, huh? Was I not helping enough? Would there have been any difference if I was there or not?" he huffed, dropping to his knees and burying his face in his hands. Pyrrha instinctively dropped to hers, wincing at the harsh stones digging and nipping into the pale flesh of her knees. She propped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly as Jaune mumbled onward.

"Weiss...she got hurt too. Because she was in the thick of it...Nora and Ren...Ruby, they've all got their wounds...and..." he sniffed, looking up at Pyrrha with the most broken, watery gaze she had ever seen on him. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pressed his ear into the swell of her chest, hugging her as tight as he could. "... _You_ , Pyrrha."

"Oh Jaune..." She went rigid at the sudden hug, but quickly reciprocated, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing the top of his head. His breath hitched and he lifted his head, sniffing, their eyes scant millimeters apart. He was panting and sniffling, Pyrrha smiling lightly as she scooped a tumbling tear off of his cheek onto her thumb. "You fought bravely. And you made a difference that I don't think you realize. Why, Coco and Velvet were telling stories of your bravery just the other day! And...when you helped me up after what happened to Penny. You told me that it wasn't my fault. That we cannot let them take anyone else, or tear us apart. It's only been recently I've had time to process what happened...to let what you said really sink in..."

"Over the last few months my life went from bad to worse. But you? You were the constant in my life. You kept me going, Jaune. You...you saved me. Goodness, you're still continuing to save me. Day after day you save me, over and over again. I don't think you realize how important you truly are." She stroked his hair, smiling lightly as her eyes became heavy and lidded, enjoying the warm arms still curled around her waist.

Jaune breathed out with a steady puff, the shakiness before no longer evident. He squeezed his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck, sighing contently. Pyrrha herself hummed and coiled her arms around his neck, hugging the blonde just as tight.

"I'm sorry...bout last night, I mean." Jaune mumbled into the warm smooth flesh of her neck, his bristly chin tickling her jawline. Pyrrha recoiled out of the embrace with a confused look knitting her brows.

"Whatever for, Jaune?" She asked softly, still raking her fingers through his locks. Jaune sighed heavily and shrugged.

"The way we left things last night was...well, my fault. B-But I want to...make it right."

"How?" Pyrrha's heart began beating quicker and quicker, drums to the beautiful tones of his voice. Jaune's breath quivered and his arms withdrew from around her waist. Feeling an awkward and nervous shift in Jaune's demeanor, Pyrrha quickly kept him where he was by looping her arms around his neck again.

"Well, I was wondering...if you'd..." Jaune blew out a breath, his face bright red. "Do you...do you want to go out again sometime? Because I'd...well, I'd like to try again." Jaune said. Pyrrha giggled into her palm, the pale supple flesh of her cheeks bulging up under her warm and loving gaze.

"Oh Jaune, you know I'm clearly smitten with you. You don't have to be so nervous around me." She hummed. Jaune shrugged, rubbing an itch at his cheek, as if trying to scrape off the blush on his face.

"I know...I'm just really nervous about..."

"Us getting that close again. No, I know." Pyrrha sobered, returning to raking her fingers through his hair, nails lightly scraping his scalp. Jaune shivered and smiled at the sensation, shuffling to stop his feet from going numb under his weight. "But what is a life worth living, if you focus on the ifs? Let's just live, Jaune."

Jaune smiled at his lap, closing his eyes contently to the fingers threading through his hair.

"So to answer your original question...yes, I'd love to go out with you sometime." Pyrrha smiled, rubbing her nose against his. Jaune chuckled lightly at the tickling sensation. He grinned and looked up into her bountiful green eyes, gently cradling her chin between finger and thumb. The wash of despair that had stained his eyes before had run away with the flow of his tears, leaving only tranquility in his azure stare.

"Good talk." Jaune whispered, pressing his brow to hers. Pyrrha pulled him closer, via the arms circled around his neck. She grinned and pushed her forehead against his softly, humming a mellow tune. Jaune raised a brow, but continued to listen to her soothing tones, the vibrations of her throat reverberating in the small gap between them.

"Okay, you've been humming that all week...I recognize it but, I just can't put a finger on it..." And then Jaune's eyes burst wide open, his jaw slack, because for the first time ever, he heard Pyrrha sing. And it was beautiful. A gorgeous birdsong to his ears.

 _"I was cold in the dark...it was empty in my life...from the outside it looked so bright...but nothing felt right ...to me."_ Pyrrha sang, her cheeks aflame, her eyes shut as she clung to him, he being her lifeline.

 _"I saw a little ray of light come through...the tiniest of sparks came into view...and then..."_ Her soft, beautiful eyes opened to him. _"...you made me hope again."_ her calm and sultry tones, smooth as velvet, comforted his ears. The extra meaning in her words would normally rebound off of his insecurities and uncomprehending nature, but now, with their feelings laid bare, he saw her compassion for him, conveyed in her tones, in the lyrics.

 _"I've been watching you, helping you...wishing that you'd see...that the girl you've been waiting so long for could be me."_ Pyrrha blushed and licked her lips, eyes flitting across his face, searching for his reaction, besides the stunned and slackened expression.

"The song from...the dance?" Jaune raised a brow, Pyrrha nodding, looping a fiery lock behind her ear. "Oh...Oh man...I-I never really paid attention to the lyrics...u-until now. Man, Pyrrha you have _such_ an amazing voice!"

"Oh, well...thank you, Jaune. I umm...I don't sing very often. If you'd believe it, I get stage fright." Jaune's eyes widened and Pyrrha chuckled lightly. "I know, I know. Champion tournament fighter, _buuuut_ with that, I can block the audience out and focus on my rival. When singing though...everyone's looking at you, and you're looking back at them. It's...silly really, but It's how I feel. That being said though...I'd do it for you. Because I trust you completely."

"Wow. Well, you're a beautiful singer, Pyrrha." He ran his rough fingertip along her jawline, cupping her cheek unconsciously.

"Mmm, well aren't you a charmer?" Pyrrha quipped, letting out a calming sigh. "You know what? I don't feel like running anymore."

"Oh. You sure? I mean, you're in your workout gear and all, I figu-

"I'm not running anymore, Jaune." She said slower, eyes pouring her green elixir into his blue gaze. "Not from this. Not from us. What umm...what about you?"

"I'd like to work on...u-us." Jaune licked his lips, nervously fidgeting as Pyrrha soothed his boiling skin, hands cupping his cheeks. "I know, we've got a lot of...baggage to figure out, but..." He blew out a shaky breath in the small space between the kneeling teens. "Yeah. I don't wanna run from this. Not anymore. Not after last night."

"Mmm. So...what did you have in mind, partner?" Pyrrha whispered, pressing her forehead to his, holding him close, feeling his irradiating heat. Jaune chuckled, closing his own eyes to just feel her. Experience her with his other senses.

"D-Dinner? Sometime, I mean. You know, maybe when we're back at school and stu-

"That sounds lovely." She hiccuped giddily, hugging him tightly. "It's a date."

"Sweet." Jaune chuckled with her, hugging her just that little bit tighter. "Mmm, it's a date."

"We'll have dinner...see how things go. Take it slow and steady." Pyrrha said softly. Jaune nodded, quirking a lopsided smile.

"Yeah. Works for me." He suddenly laughed nervously, Pyrrha raising a bemused brow. "M-Man, my heart's racing!" He scoffed, pressing a hand over his chest.

"Mine too." Pyrrha chuckled, standing up with a groan, rubbing and massaging her calves to elicit some blood flow to return. Jaune mirrored her, rubbing his tingling limbs. Pyrrha stood up straight, sobering with a sigh "I want to make things work, Jaune. I really do."

"So do I." Jaune smiled at her, flicking his numb limbs. "So...we'll take things slow...see if we can get over our problems together."

"Rather than alone." Pyrrha smiled brightly. "I think we can make it work. I...want to try."

"Then we'll give it a shot." Jaune grinned, dusting off his pants. Pyrrha smiled brightly, scratching the back of her head, when the front door of the house opened, gaining the attention of both teens in the yard.

First came Nora, her smile a megawatt beam, followed out by Ren, the stoic boy wearing the smallest of smiles. Ruby stepped out next, her red tipped Corvus locks billowing across her silver eyes. Blake stepped into the sun, her blackened tresses absorbing the light, yet her eyes reflecting in the brightest of golds. Weiss emerged last of all, the slight and welkin eyed girl closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh crisp woodland air.

Pyrrha and Jaune's eyes widened, and the tips of their lips curved in the most dazzling of smiles. Yang stepped out last of all, orange vest cradling her generous curves, charcoal grey cargo trousers rustling as she strode out into the blinding sun above, igniting her blonde locks into an effulgent halo of gold.

She lifted her cybernetic hand up to the sky, blocking the sun as she opened and closed her fist. Both teams looked to the blonde brawler, all smiling with affection and adoration. Yang blew out a shaky breath and dropped her new arm to her side, turning to the other seven with a small smirk.

"Okay..." She breathed. "Let's try this again."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Okay! New chapter, yay! I don't really like it, but it's done and I can move on to the stuff I am proud of! That being said, I did like the conversation between RWBY. I frickin love Weiss! Anyway, I'll see you all next week! Remember to review and tell me if you find any spelling or grammar blunders. I was rushed and tired when I proof read this. See ya!- Dave**


	7. Learning To Walk Again

**Author's Notes: Hey guys! So sorry for the delay. So, I'm afraid I can no longer update weekly, so what we're gonna do is guaranteed fortnightly updates. It gives me more time to work on them and tweak them. The last few I've not been totally pleased with, but uploaded them anyway simply because the clock ran out.**

 **So I will also be exploring the villains and how they cope after that night too which'll be interesting. For example, next chapter is a Neo orientated one, which will take creative liberties on her childhood and past, not to mention the introduction of the next Acts primary Antagonist.**

 **Enjoy the fluff and stuff! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Seven: Learning To Walk Again.**

 **...**

"Oof! Hey!" Yang grumbled, frowning up at the red haired warrior responsible for her current seat in the dust. Pyrrha quirked a plucked brow, placing both hands atop her hips.

"I'm sorry, but your stance is all wrong." Pyrrha challenged, offering a hand out to the blonde. Yang rolled her lilac eyes, before accepting the hand. "Your feet need to be at least shoulders width apart, and one foot needs to be further back than the other. You won't fall over if-"

"Yeah yeah, let's go again." Yang scoffed, spreading her feet, drawing swirls in the dirt with her boots. She raised her fists, both mechanical and flesh. Pyrrha bit her lip and nodded, raising her own. Red and Yellow paced in a circle around one another, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Yang swung first, her impatience getting the better of her.

Pyrrha blocked with her wrists, staggering back at the sheer harsh weight of the metal limb. Her bones flexed, before swinging around to the side and sweeping her leg across the dirt, knocking Yang's legs out from under her. The blonde fell on her back with a thud, panting and staring up at the blue sky.

The arcing cloud of dust settled at the heel of Pyrrha's shoe, before she stood up straight, patting the wisps of sand out of her vest. Yang thumped her fist into the earth and growled, rolling over and getting up.

"This is pointless!" Yang threw her fists down by her sides, stamping off towards the house. Pyrrha sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, when a voice spoke out.

"Man, that thing packs a punch!" Tai smiled hopefully, standing from his seat besides Zwei in the baking afternoon sun. Yang stopped in her tracks, sighing heavily and straightening the warp in her downtrodden spine. Her lilac eyes flit back over her shoulder to her rising Dad and her red haired sparring partner.

"We've been at this for hours! I get it, you wanna know I can still fight. Obviously I can't." Yang murmured, grasping the door handle.

"Giving up already, huh?" Tai huffed, Yang letting go of the knob to face him. "That's not like you."

"Dad..." Yang huffed, studying her cybernetic arm with a grimace. "I've tried."

"You're still strong, Yang. Almost broke my wrists." Pyrrha smirked, Yang scoffing. "Yes, you're still slightly sluggish, but you haven't fought in... just over two months."

"I guess..." Yang looked at her arms, the thin biceps not as thick as the brawler was used to.

"You cant give up, hon." Tai looped an arm over her shoulder. "Tell you what, how bout you and I go a few rounds, huh? I'm old and slow, so we should be evenly matched." Tai smirked. Yang grinned lightly.

"Ha ha, very funny." Yang blew out a calming breath, rolling her shoulders. "Okay, you're on, old man."

"Hey!" Tai chuckled, raising his fists. Yang paced back into the circle of disturbed dirt and boot prints. Pyrrha smiled as the pair began to lightly spar, her Father going slow enough for Yang to get a slight upper hand, helping her self esteem greatly. With a grin, her fighting became more aggressive, as she pushed through the lactic acid and fatigue.

Pyrrha looked over her shoulder to the porch of the house. Sat in the shade, Jaune smiled brightly at her, trading a toothy grin with the red head. Pyrrha looked back to the fight as Yang and Tai locked fists, sweat dripping off their straining faces. Content to take a moment of leave, she paced over to the front of the house, to take some solace in the shade... and Jaune.

Her once pale porcelain skinned shoulders were now dusted red with a tinge of sunburn. She stepped up the steps and sat on the cool wood beside Jaune, hands wringing atop her knees.

"You're doing great work with her." Jaune commented, biting a tag of hard skin from his calloused hand. Pyrrha smiled to him, looking back to the sparring as Tai swung a boot around to drive down onto Yang, the blonde Brawler quick to block with her wrists. "He's pretty spry, for an older fellow."

"He's not that old, Jaune." Pyrrha chuckled. "But yes, he is a terrific fighter."

"And look at Yang. Really didn't think we'd get her to this point. There's almost a... sense of normality again." Jaune chuckled. He looked at Pyrrha and smiled brightly, gingerly reaching into her lap and gently gripping her hand, molding the rigid flesh into soft and warm digits. Pyrrha smiled back to him and lightly squeezed his hand. "I hope you're starting to feel a sense of normality again, I mean... i-if not, is there anything I can do to help it along?"

Pyrrha squeezed his hand and shuffled over, her hip nudging his, holding his hand in her lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're already doing it." she smiled contently, stroking her thumb over his knuckles.

"Mmm. Good." Jaune rested his head on hers. Both of them reveled in the warmth of the other, in their scent, in their heartbeat, in their very aura. The front door to the house opened sharply and both Pyrrha and Jaune jumped, quickly letting go of the other, clearing their throats and blushing feverishly. Nora babbled in Ren's ear as they both stepped out of the house, before silence quickly replaced her rapid words.

"Err...what's up with you two?" Nora raised a brow, bouncing on her toes. Ren's usually unreadable expressions were null, replaced with a warm smile.

"Nora and I are going into town. Do you two need anything?"

"Yeah! Watcha need?!" Nora grinned, hands on her hips. Pyrrha shrugged, kneading her thighs, Jaune bobbing his shoulders too.

"We're fine thank you." Pyrrha smiled to them, Jaune nodding rapidly. Nora was skeptical, but decided to simply plead innocence, and skip down the steps of the porch. Ren smiled at the pair.

"I see you're figuring things out."

"Ah w-well-"

"You see-"

"Guys. Stop. It's... It's great. I'm happy for you. Don't worry, I won't breath a word to Nora." Ren smiled to them, giving a brief nod and stepping down the porch. Pyrrha and Jaune smiled at each other and shuffled closer again, hands held in Pyrrha's lap.

"We are, aren't we?" Jaune spoke, Pyrrha lifting her head from his shoulder to meet his eyes. "Figuring things out I mean."

"I believe so. There was a time not even a week ago we were too afraid to be this... close." Pyrrha gestured to their current arrangement. Jaune nodded and sighed contently, the tension in his frame melting away like butter. "This is nice. Perfect even. Little steps."

"Yeah...little steps." Jaune hummed, resting his head on top of hers. The front door blew open again, startling the soothed pair once again.

"ZWEI! ZWEI?!" Ruby yelled as she paced out onto the porch, Pyrrha's eye twitching and her teeth audibly grating. "Oh! Hey guys! How's my sister doing?"

"She's doing great! Just look at her." Jaune chuckled, gesturing to Tai receiving a hard punch from Yang, both of them laughing joyfully. Ruby beamed brightly and looked at the leash in her hand.

"Have you guys seen Zwei?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha blew out a breath and her emerald eyes flit up to the young leader.

"Yes, I have. He's just over there, by Tai." Pyrrha pointed ahead to the folded out deck chair, the two white towels atop it, and the happily panting dog beside it.

"Zwei! C'mere boy! Walkies!"

Weiss stepped out next, tapping away intently on her scroll. Jaune looked up over Pyrrha's head to the Schnee.

"Hey Weiss!"

"Hello Jaune." She beamed back. "How are you two?"

"Good thank you. How about you? Have you been speaking to Team SSSN at all?" Pyrrha asked. Weiss nodded and bent over to show Pyrrha her scroll. The Invincible Girl snorted into her palm as she read the string of messages.

"What's that?" Jaune asked. Weiss shrugged and stood up.

"We've started a group chat between our three teams. In fact, I was just about to invite JNPR riiiight now." She clicked a button and both Jaune and Pyrrha's scrolls buzzed. They both took out said devices and instantly accepted the invite, the conversation now visible to them.

Jaune chuckled as he read them, looking up at Weiss. "So how're you and Neptune doing? You talked at all? You know, one on one?"

Weiss huffed and put her scroll in her pocket, shrugging her shoulders.

"Kinda? Oooh, I don't know. I don't know what goes on in his head!"

"Tell me about it." Pyrrha smirked at Jaune, the blonde boy scratching the back of his head bashfully. Ruby soon rejoined the conversation as she clipped the leash to Zwei's collar, standing up and facing the three teens.

"C'mon Weiss, If Zwei doesn't get his walk soon, we'll have a tantrum on our hands."

"Okay okay, Ruby, I'm coming." Weiss smiled to the Arkos pair, before turning and trotting down the steps. "We won't be long."

"See ya later!" Jaune called, mirth leaving his lips in light chuckles. He sobered and faced Pyrrha, their faces inching closer as Pyrrha happily closed that distance between themselves again. "Hey."

"Hello." She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder contently. Jaune found her hand and the two stayed in comfortable silence as they watched Yang and Tai. The Xiao Long's continued to spar, trading hits back and forth, until Yang ended the round with a firm punch of her metal fist to his arm, knocking her Father back a few staggered steps.

The two breathed out breathlessly, Tai managing to chuckle between gasps.

"Yeah...that really does pack a punch!" He winced, rolling his arm experimentally. Yang stood up tall, smirking smugly.

"Yeah... okay, okay you were right." Yang rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I'm glad I didn't give up earlier." Her expression turned to a smirk. "Y'know, for someone who's been out of it for a while, I think I'm doing fine." She punched her fists together, metal meeting skin with a thump.

"Yeah..." Tai stood up straight, his panting now quelled. "You're close."

"Oh really? I just wiped the floor with you!" Yang grinned, Tai circling her with his own smirk, enjoying every second of their playful banter returning between them.

"You're still off balance." Tai off handed the comment, Yang's eyes bolstering wide.

"What?! No I'm not! Pyrrha, you saw, right?!" Yang called out to the porch. Pyrrha lifted her head from Jaune's shoulder, nervously prodding the tips of her index fingers together.

"Uuuum..."

"Urgh, okay... so maybe I'm still a bit outta shape. But, honestly..." She looked down at her robotic appendage. "I'm kinda surprised. I thought it'd just be this huge weight, but it feels... natural." Yang smiled brightly as she flexed her cybernetic digits back and forth. "They did a great job with this thing."

She didn't hear the quick dusty shuffle of impeding boots, as Tai jabbed across her jaw, Yang startling from her daze to quickly throw herself back into the fray, blocking his swings. She jabbed back, lifting her leg to offer a few swift kicks to his shoulder and stomach. He blocked them all, and eventually the pair became locked in the other's grip, her cybernetic arm in his grasp and her flesh hand stopping his elbow from meeting her neck.

"I wasn't talking about your actual balance." Tai sighed. With that, he kicked her leg out from under her, once again letting Yang fall flat on her back. Pyrrha noticed and gave Jaune's hand a squeeze, before standing and trotting down the steps.

Yang sat up on her elbows, frowning at her Dad.

"Um, her actual balance could use some work too." Pyrrha added, Yang rolling her eyes and sitting up with a groan. "Perhaps I should work on that now, Tai."

"Jeez, what is this, 'kick a Yang while she's down' day?" Yang huffed, swiping the grime from her pale shoulder. Tai held a hand out towards Pyrrha, instantly stilling her.

"I saw your tournament fights, during the Vytal festival?" Tai shrugged, offering a hand to Yang. She frowned and looked at her knees.

"Let me guess... I was sloppy?" Yang mimicked his voice, rolling her lilac eyes. Tai chuckled and hoisted her up to her feet.

"No. You were predictable."

"And stubborn!" Jaune added from the porch. Yang growled in his direction.

"And bone headed."

"Perhaps a little on the-

"Urgh I get it!" Yang crossed her arms. "Can we be done for today?"

"No. Not yet." Tai huffed, gently gripping her shoulder to turn the teen to face him. He sobered and hollered over his shoulder. "Hey! Pyrrha! C'mere a sec!"

"Okay." Pyrrha paced over. "What is it, Taiyang?"

"Yang, do you realize you used your semblance to win every match after the qualifiers?" Tai said to his daughter. Yang turned away and paced over to the deckchair, picking up a towel to swipe the dirt and sweat from her brow. The once white towel was now very much brown with grime.

"So what? How's me using my semblance any different from someone else using theirs?" Yang grumbled, unscrewing her cybernetic arm with a hiss and setting it on the chair to clean the collected grit and dust out from where her stump met metal. Tai looked at Pyrrha and smiled.

"Yang. I want you to look at Pyrrha."

"Why?" Yang asked, staring at the green eyed warrior. "What am I looking for?"

"I saw her rounds in the Tournament too." He turned to Pyrrha with a somber sigh. "I'm... sorry. About what happened in the end."

"It's... It's okay." Pyrrha smiled meekly.

"Pyrrha only ever used her semblance if the chips were down. If she had no other choice. She very rarely relied on it at all."

"So? Everyone's semblances are different." Yang shrugged, picking up the prosthetic and blowing a plume of dust out from the pistons. Tai huffed and placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.

"Yeah, they are different. But not everyone else's is basically a temper tantrum." Tai stepped over to his daughter as she locked the arm back into place and rolled the limb back and forth experimentally.

"I didn't choose my semblance, Dad." Yang's eyes watered ever so slightly. "Besides. It can't be that great... " she looked at her arm. "Didn't help me when it came to saving Blake, did it?"

"No, that's true. In fact, that's my point. You can take damage and dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn't make you invincible." Tai placed both hands on Yang's shoulders, her eyes meeting his somberly. "It's great if you're in a bind, but what if you miss?"

"This." Yang held up her whirring arm, titanium skin gleaming in the light. "This is what happens when I miss."

"Yang... " Tai whimpered almost. "... You have always been one to burn brighter than everyone else." He lifted her chin with his thumb. "Whether it was with your smile, or..." He grinned and touched her hair. "Well, I remember your first haircut." He chuckled, Yang shoving his hand away with a light smile. Pyrrha lightly stepped into the conversation.

"Yang... I say this as your friend... I know what your Father is saying. You need to keep your emotions in check. Keep a level head. That's the key to any fight." Pyrrha added. "I was an infant when I first held a spear. I wasn't much older when I had my first fight. As you can imagine I messed up. Made mistakes. Got hurt. Because I was young. I was naive. And I wore my heart on my sleeve. Emotions in a fight can be our undoing." Pyrrha looked down at the dirt with a somber sigh. "Look at what happened with Penny. My emotions were toyed with. My mind was... warped too. I lost. In a different way than I'm most certainly used to."

Tai squeezed Pyrrha's shoulder affectionately and fatherly, turning to face Yang. "Your semblance is a great fall back, but..." Tai sighed heavily. "What we are trying to say is that it won't always save you... Obviously." He closed his eyes with a tired and weighted sigh. He let a dry chuckle leave his throat though. "You definitely have your Mom's stubbornness."

Yang looked up at him with a raised brow. "Oh? So now we can talk about her?"

"Well, as you're always reminding me, you're an adult now." Tai shrugged and smiled. "... I see so much of Raven in you."

"Well, I'm sorry I remind you of her so much." Yang deflected, crossing her arms.

"Don't be." Tai softly spoke, pulling Yang into a hug. "Raven was great in so many ways! Her strength, her ambition. Her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for." He reeled out of the embrace to look deep into her lilac eyes. "I'm proud of how much of her I see in you."

Pyrrha smiled from the sidelines, looking at Jaune over her shoulder. "I'll leave you two to talk."

"Oh! Sorry, Pyrrha." Tai chuckled, Pyrrha shaking her head with a beaming smile.

"Don't be. Family is the most important thing in the world." And with that the emerald eyed warrior turned away.

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Yang called, Pyrrha looking back over her shoulder. "Thanks. For... helping and... you know, not giving up on me when I gave up on you."

"You never gave up on us Yang. Whatever feelings you had were definitely warranted. It's nice to see you up and about." Pyrrha gleamed, pacing back to the porch. Tai smiled at the red head.

"You have a great band of friends supporting you." He commented affectionately, both the Xiao Long's watching Pyrrha sit beside Jaune and rest her head on his shoulder, both content.

"Yeah. I do." Yang had a biting thought niggling at the back of her mind, and her lips moved with the words pouring forth. "If you saw so much of Mom in me, if it made you proud... then why wouldn't you tell me more about her?" Yang asked with a pained inflection to her voice. Tai's smile fell and he exhaled heavily.

"Because while I'm proud to see so much of her in you, I'm glad I don't see all of her in you."

"Why?" Yang asked softly. Tai sat on the floor, cross legged, gesturing to the spot before him. Yang sat opposite, hugging her knees with both flesh and robotic arms.

"Your mother was a... complicated woman... " Tai shrugged. "Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore out team apart. And it did a real number on our family..."

"Did she..." Yang closed her eyes. "H-Hate me?"

"No. No, no hon." Tai leaned over, gripping her knee and kneading it affectionately. "No, she didn't. But, like I said... she was complicated. Your Uncle's the same." Tai chuckled dryly. Yang raised a brow.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"You have any other Uncles I don't know about?" Tai chuckled.

"Where is he? Ruby said he isn't at Beacon." Yang shrugged, itching her shoulder.

"He's... got some personal errands he's running, if you could call it that." Tai huffed. "Whatever it is he's looking for, I hope he finds it soon. Gods know the school could use him right now."

"If I... had some more questions about Mom..." Yang gulped, Tai furrowing his brow as he listened to her plea. "Would you... answer them?"

Tai sighed heavily, but let a lop sided smile grace his face. "If you promise to work on your fighting style, to realize that - like your Mother - strength isn't all that matters in a fight. That if you look at a situation a little bit harder, you can see that there's often another way around as well." He walked his fingers through the dirt to pace the digits around a stone, as apposed to through it. "You promise to work on that?" Yang bit her lip and nodded.

"Yeah. I promise."

Tai smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well, what do you wanna know?"

...

Nora paced beside Ren, the pair content in one another's space, gravel crunching under boot. The usually chipper Valkyrie wrung her fingers and flit her eyes along the path.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Bright orange bangs lifted up to face him, turquoise eyes meeting his warm magenta concern. She quirked her lips into a wry smile.

"Not really. You?"

"I'm better. Being around our friends has certainly helped. And you." Ren smiled warmly. Nora beamed back, skipping forward a few steps before returning to a walk. "So, what did you want to do in town?"

"Hmm? Oh nothin, silly! I just needed to get out for a bit." Nora huffed, waving off his comment. The two walked in a silence tinged with slight awkwardness, a weight hanging in the air between them, like something was going unsaid, something needed to be said. "Pinky promise me."

"Huh?" Ren startled at her, eyes focusing on the little finger held up before him. "Promise you what?"

"Keep a secret, Renny. Pleeaase?" Nora pouted. Ren smiled softly and wrapped his smallest finger around hers.

"Of course. Now what's bothering you?" Ren let go of her hand, Nora clapping her hands together as she bounced with her steps. She popped her lips and looked at him.

"A lotta things. How all our friends are feeling. Their injuries. I guess...I feel lucky? That I'm not in as bad of a place, but I always feel all yucky."

"Yucky?" Ren raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well... not physically yucky, but like..." She huffed and shook her head. "I just feel sad all the time, okay? I smile and it hurts my cheeks and jaw. Like I'm forcing it."

"Oh. Yes, well that's natural. The pain we all endured will linger over us for some time."

"Yeah, but I don't want it to! I wanna do something nice!" Nora threw her fist into her palm with a clap, determination in her eyes. Ren smiled fondly to his best friend, feeling that constant covet for something more out of their relationship. Maybe the feelings started the night he could have lost her. Maybe they started when he first ever met her. He didn't like to think he was that oblivious to his own heart. He prided himself on being more in tune with himself than Jaune was, the boy who failed to see Pyrrha Nikos practically drooling over him.

"Okay, Nora. Soooo, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I just had an idea!" She held her hand over her head, gesticulating like the flickering light of a bulb. "Ding! And I think while we're in town, we should get them all something."

"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Ren beamed fondly. Nora grinned and rubbed her hands together.

"Well, I thought we could do a little shopping, find something cool for each one of em!" Nora bounced. "Ooooh it's the best idea ever! Of all time!"

"It _is_ a good idea, actually." Ren chuckled lightly, the woodland path giving way to the wide open expanse of the town square. "So, what sort of gifts did you think of?"

"Well..." Nora took a deep inhale. "Ruby likes cookies so I think we should get her some of those, Weiss likes jewelry - though between you and me that stuff is suuuuper expensive - so maybe a little necklace or something, Blake likes books so how about the new copy of Ninjas of love? Yang loves - and I mean loooooves - games, so let's grab a copy of that new racing game! Pyrrha and Jaune? Hmm, well Pyrrha likes chocolate - though she'll deny it to the death - so we'll get her some of dat, Jaune likes sentimental stuff, so I'm gonna get him an engraved statue made from the finest Boarbatusk ivory!" Nora panted from her quickly spoken eruption. "And you? Well... I've got something special in mind for you... it's secret though."

"Nora... " Ren sighed. "That all sounds very expensive."

"But they're worth it." Nora said softly, with the most determined yet pleading look in her big round eyes. Ren smiled at her.

"You're amazing, Nora." He pulled her into a one armed hug, Nora humming and wrapping her arm around his back as they walked together. "So... which shop first?"

"Weeeeeell..." Nora scanned the array of shops in the high street, eyes snapping to the Jewelers, then the bakery, then the video store, then the book store, her lip being worried by her teeth harder and harder. "Ooooh! I dunno, Ren!"

"Maybe the sculptors should be our first inquiry. See if they _actually_ have Boarbatusk ivory in stock." Ren chuckled with a roll of his eyes.

"Well they should have! How hard is it to get a hold of?!"

"Not everyone can one hit kill a Boarbatusk, Nora." He smirked at her, the pair enjoying some alone time... just the two of them.

...

"Zwei, okay okay, I'll let you off your leash now." Ruby giggled at the whiny dog pawing at his collar uncomfortably. "Just... don't go running off anywhere, okay?"

The little dog whined and whimpered at her, the silver eyed girl huffing and clicking the leash off of his collar. Instantly the Corgi perked up, bounding and frolicking in the long grass around Ruby's feet, panting eagerly. Weiss smiled and fanned her face with her hand, looking up at the almost rainforest-like canopy overhead.

"Ruby, can we please get out of this humid... jungle!" Weiss whined, swiping her glossy brow with the back of her hand, gagging at the accumulated sweat on her knuckles. "Ew."

"Oh. Sure Weiss. C'mon Zwei!" Ruby called as the perky dog's ears flit up from behind a moss smothered log. Ruby stepped back onto the crumbled and cracked tarmac path, Weiss following suit, as Zwei quickly caught up to them with a few echoing barks. Weiss exhaled heavily.

"Oh. Much better." she hummed as a whipping of refreshingly cool air poured down the path. She flicked her slightly matted white fringe aside and swat at a few buzzing flies, welkin eyes falling on Ruby. They softened at her searching gaze, watching the path disappearing under the front of her shoes. "Ruby? Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Ruby looked up with a start. "Oh. Yeah, I guess."

"You wouldn't be lying to your partner now, would you?" Weiss stopped walking with a final clack of her heels, crossing her arms with a smirk. Ruby too paused her walk and smiled weakly, shrugging.

"Eh. I've just got some things on my mind."

"Well... " Weiss blew out a breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm trying to be better at listening to people and-"

"Being an overall nicer person?" Ruby tilted her head. Weiss grated her teeth.

"Yes. That."

"It's okay, Weiss."

"Ruby!" Weiss grabbed her shoulders firmly, eyes wide and lips snarling. "Share with me!"

"Wah?"

"I mean..." Weiss shook her head, calming down. "I'm here to help and listen. So... what's bothering you?" Weiss sighed softly. Ruby bit her lip and sagged her shoulders with a huff.

"I just... haven't been sleeping well. Nightmares and stuff." Ruby blushed, fist rubbing her eye. "It's embarrassing."

"No it isn't, Ruby." Weiss shook her head. "I have them too. Blake does. Yang certainly does. We're all struggling. This is the first time I've heard you voice your own, though."

"Yeah. I figured keep it to myself." Ruby shrugged, going to walk on when Weiss grabbed her forearm, stopping her. Their eyes met, Weiss' swimming with concern.

"What do you mean, keep it to yourself? Why would you do that to yourself, Ruby?"

"I just... people are struggling enough. They don't need my problems on top of theirs. Besides... I have to be strong... I-I'm a leader, and my team needs me."

"While that's admirable... it's stupid too." Weiss snapped. "We help each other, Ruby! Leader and all. Like you said, we're a team."

Ruby sniffed and her eyes watered, an icy guilt pooling in her gut, mixing with the crushing weight of all that transpired. She hiccuped and kicked a pebble.

"I killed..."

"Huh?" Weiss tilted her head. Ruby shrugged, sniffling.

"Torchwick. Neo. Just two of the lives I took. Not to mention White Fang soldiers..." Her bottom lip wobbled, teeth digging into the flesh to stabilize it. "I know they were bad, but... a life's a life! I wanted to be a Huntress, to fight Grimm, kill Grimm, stop bad guys. I just never knew how I'd feel when I took a life."

"Ruby..." Weiss breathed, hand held atop her heart.

"It hurts, Weiss." Ruby welled up, her throat clogged and thick. Her watery silver eyes met soft icy blues. "I know they were bad, but it hurts."

"That's what makes you a good person, Ruby." Weiss gently gripped her shoulder. "You feel. They don't. Do you think they'd think twice about killing you?"

"No." Ruby sniffed. "But isn't that your point? That we're different? Are we?" Ruby sobbed into her hand, closing her eyes and bouncing on the spot as she fought to get the strangled words out. "... or am I just a monster too?"

"Come here." Weiss sighed, pulling Ruby into a hug as the young leader with such weight on her shoulders broke, sobbing her heart out into Weiss' shoulder. The two of them shared the quiet moment between partners, letting a wounded leader finally release the emotion she fought to hide from her heavily wounded team. A single crow watched from a high branch, ruby red eyes flitting over the scene, before flapping it's jet black wings into the woodland canopy.

"Better?" Weiss murmured as Ruby nodded, wiping her eyes. "Good." The Schnee smiled and looked up at the dusty gold columns of light pouring through the cracks in the woodland canopy above. "We should probably get back, hmm?"

"Wait! N-Not yet." Ruby shook her head. "I... I wanna see my Mom... j-just quickly!" Ruby whimpered. Weiss sighed and smiled softly.

"Of course, Ruby."

...

The midday sun beating overhead had a way of draining the strength out of you, leaving your mouth dusty dry. Jaune clapped his lips as he set an array of glasses down on the kitchen counter, humming to himself as he went about making some drinks. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of orange juice.

"Ah, orange juice. Perfect choice. Vitamins and the sugar content are a much needed boost after a workout." Pyrrha smiled, shutting the door with a click. Jaune nodded with a hum and poured the bright liquid into each glass. Pyrrha watched him fondly, bouncing on her toes with her hands wrung behind her back. She tilted her head and stepped closer to him.

He poured the last glass and screwed the cap back onto the freshly squeezed juice. He paused his motions and looked at Pyrrha as she smiled softly to him.

"You okay?"

"Mmm... just thinking." She bobbed her shoulders. Jaune raised a yellow brow.

"About?"

"Our date. That even though I'm slightly nervous to be in a romantic environment with you... I'm excited." Pyrrha blushed. Jaune smiled sheepishly and nodded, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah... so am I."

"Nervous or excited?" Pyrrha quirked a brow, tugging the corner of her lips up into a lopsided smile. Jaune snorted.

"Both, definitely both."

"Well... what's making _you_ nervous?" Pyrrha leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. Jaune raised a brow at her as she shrugged nonchalantly. "Humor me."

"Okay... " Jaune nodded to himself. He opened the fridge and set the bottle back into it's frosty shelf. Shutting the fridge, he turned to face her and huffed, leaning against the breakfast island. "Well, I guess I'm just nervous I'll say something wrong, or we'll find it weird and any feelings between us will just ruin our friendship."

"Oh Jaune, my silly partner." Pyrrha stepped closer, cupping his cheeks softly, thumbs smoothing over the bags under his eyes. "Do you really believe it could end that way?"

"I dunno. It's a fear, I suppose." Jaune shrugged.

"Last night... when I kissed you. Did anything feel weird between us?" She asked gently.

"Besides me running away?" Jaune rolled his eyes. Pyrrha's hands firmed on his face and his eyes snapped to hers again. "No. It felt... it felt _right_. Like coming home, you know?"

"Mmm. I felt the same way. You don't have to worry about anything feeling weird on my part, Jaune. I care about you, very deeply."

"I care about you too, Pyrrha. To me, you went from being my cool partner - and super badass fighting champion and Pumpkin Pete's mascot - to the girl I want to be with more than anything in the world." Jaune whined, pressing his forehead to hers. "I want this to work, so badly. And even if we couldn't make a relationship work, I don't wanna lose you as my best friend. I just... I _need_ you to be a part of my life."

"Jaune. I'll always be here for you." She stroked his face, eyes darting as she pondered if she should. "I want to do something for you."

"What?" Jaune asked softly in the gap between them. Pyrrha shrugged.

"I want to show you that you have nothing to worry about."

"Huh?" Jaune looked up into her warm green eyes. Pyrrha leaned forward and softly pecked his lips, peeling back and reopening her eyes on his slightly pursed lips. With a soft giggle, she stepped back from him and blushed, scratching the back of her head.

"So... tell me. Would I do that if I didn't think we could work? If I wasn't sure I wanted to be a part of your life in that way?"

"I guess not." Jaune chuckled with a grin. "Okay... so... We'll have dinner. Next weekend, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect. You still haven't told me where though." She snickered. Jaune nodded.

"Surprise." He winked. Pyrrha went to retort, just as the door opened sharply, Yang panting and glistening with sweat. Her towel draped over her shoulders, orange vest soaked a darker shade, she swallowed to catch her breath.

"Whew! Kicked his butt on that last round!" She chuckled, pacing over to the fridge and opening the door, bending over to examine the shelves. Jaune smiled knowingly to Pyrrha and took one of the glasses of orange juice off of the counter.

"Hey Yang?" Jaune said, not breaking eye contact with Pyrrha. Yang shut the fridge and turned, seeing the held out glass of marigold liquid.

"Thanks Jaune." She lightly punched his arm after accepting the glass into her cybernetic hand.

SMASH!

Shards of glass exploded across the tiling admix splashes of orange juice. Yang's closed cybernetic fist slowly opened, dripping with juice. Jaune and Pyrrha were wide eyed, Yang blushing and shrinking her head down, ears touching her shoulders.

"Oops. Heh. Still gotta work on applying pressure." Yang scratched the base of her neck. "Can I err... maybe get another?"

Jaune nodded and handed her another glass, into her other hand this time. Pyrrha looped a vermilion lock behind her ear and grabbed the dustpan and brush from the closet, bending over to sweep up the reflective glitter of broken glass. Yang finished a swig.

"Mmm, thanks Pyrrha. It's okay, I can do it."

"I don't mind."

"But... You've already done so much for me. All of you have." Yang sighed, hopping up to perch her rear on the kitchen counter. Cradling her glass in her lap, her metal fingertips drummed a gentle rhythm into the cup. "I don't how to thank you."

"Come back to Beacon." Jaune said with finality, hands pressing into the counter either side of her legs, looking into her lilac eyes with a plea. Yang looked down at her glass and sighed.

"I don't think I can, Jaune."

"Why not? It's not like you left on bad terms with the staff or anything, you left for an inj-"

"I don't think I'm cut out to be a Huntress." Yang somberly shrugged. Pyrrha dumped the glass remnants into the bin and set the dustpan back in the closet, looking back to their wounded friend. "You heard my Dad. I rely too much on my semblance. Every fight I've ever had, it's been used in some way or another."

Jaune stepped back as Yang hopped off the counter onto her feet. She gulped back the last of the juice and set the cup on the drainer. "I never really thought about what would happen if I missed... until I did." she lifted her cybernetic hand up to the light, watching the kaleidoscope of color as it seeped through the gaps between plates and pistons. "This thing is amazing, but... it's not me. And I've only got one of my gauntlets! The other is gods only know where. To return to Beacon like this would be... I don't think I could handle it."

Jaune nodded and looked at Pyrrha, flitting his eyes back to Yang and searching her features. "Are you... worried about what people might say? Gossip and stuff?"

"Heh. Nah, people have always spoken about me behind my back..." Yang shrugged the comment off, sobering as she looked at her arm. "This is different though. I guess I'm kinda nervous to go back, cos of this and what people'll think or say. I just don't want pity!" Yang threw her arms down and straight back up to run down her face. "Urgh, you know? I don't want my grades perked up cos 'Ah, she's missing an arm, we've got to allow for that' or 'poor thing, here's some extra credit cos we feel sorry for you!"

Jaune nodded and leaned back against the counter, Pyrrha perching her butt on the worktop beside him.

"I can understand that." Jaune nodded. Yang tilted her head.

"You can?"

"We both can." he gestured to Pyrrha as well as she nodded. "I'm always getting pity, whether it's about bullies or my fighting ability. Constant pity sucks. I've been pitied all my life for being the weakest of a family of great huntsmen. It sucks, I get it."

"And while I am grateful for all the care and support I've received from people at school, the pity does start to wear you down. That's why this has been so lovely, being with friends who don't show pity, but compassion." Pyrrha smiled. Yang looked down at her feet.

"We're not trying to take anything away from what happened to you, sis." Jaune said, gently squeezing Yang's shoulder. She smiled at his soft gesture, and the family orientation to his words. "We just want you to know we understand. I still think you should come back to Beacon."

"Jaune, I... I've only got one weapon."

"So have I. Other's a shield. I use that arm to protect myself, and the other to attack."

"The whole point of today hasn't been to only get you back into fighting shape, but to adapt your fighting style to your current predicament." Pyrrha shrugged, tilting her head. "Adapting is how we survive."

"Your team needs you, Yang." Jaune said, Yang scoffing.

"Low blow, Jaune."

"I'm serious. They're a team of three when they need four. They need you, Yang." Jaune sighed. "We all do."

"I... I'm... " Yang turned away to face the table, pressing both hands into the wooden surface. "Can we just drop it?"

"No, Yan-"

"Yes, of course." Pyrrha added, looking at Jaune's frowning face knowingly. "That's enough for today." She said slowly, her eyes bleeding what she meant into him. He nodded and huffed.

"Yeah. No rush." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. With the desire to clear the dark cloud over the trio, Pyrrha stood and clapped her hands together.

"You did incredibly well today, Yang. Lovely footwork. You've grown accustom to the new appendage very quickly. I'm impressed." Hands on her hips, the red haired tutor grinned. Yang smiled over her shoulder.

"Thanks Pyrrha. I know I've got a ways to go, but... " she looked at her arm with a huff. "It's like learning to walk again. Or forgetting how to ride a bike. Something so ingrained in you vanishes, and you struggle to relearn it when the opportunity comes around." She smiled and closed her metal fist. "I'm trying though."

"Hey, you tried it on for the first time this morning, Yang! Don't sell yourself short. What you've achieved today is incredible!" Jaune beamed. Yang's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! I forgot! Dad and I were talking, and he said we should have a barbecue tonight! It'll be sweet, the setting sun, group of friends just relaxing and unwinding and eating grilled... everything!"

"Sounds good to me." Pyrrha smiled warmly. Jaune nodded and gave Yang a quick hug, startling the brawler. She softened and smiled, wrapping her arms around his back and burying her face into his neck with a hum.

"Thanks, bro."

"You're welcome, sis." Jaune breathed. Yang opened her eyes and looked over Jaune's shoulder at Pyrrha.

"You two are perfect together. Please... figure it out." Yang mumbled into his neck. Jaune smiled and nodded.

"Yeah... we have."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yay, update! So, from now on updates will be guaranteed fortnightly. I'll have longer to work on them, and tweak anything I feel is... well, shit. Stay safe and awesome! See you next chapter!**


	8. Pyrrha Nikos

**Author's Notes: Hey! So, I lied. Well, I didn't lie, I just didn't finish writing it. The Neo chapter is coming, but I wanted to do a Pyrrha chapter. My favorite episode of Vol 4 was Kuroyuri. To get that back story on Ren and Nora definitely brought them forward into a new light, making them probably the best developed characters in the show, because we got to see their past, how they came together. I always wanted an episode like that for Pyrrha, for the incredibly wonderful and interesting Spartan I adore. Then, they killed her off, and I was pissed. After Kuroyuri, I was even more pissed, because Pyrrha - and Jaune needed episodes like that!**

 **So, for this fic, I've written this. And man, it was a lot of hard work. A speculative, and A.U take on Pyrrha's childhood up until the present. I hope you like it , and I could definitely use some feedback on this one, because I took a lot of creative liberties that will either be good, or backfire.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and I'll speak to you at the end! - Dave**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Eight: Pyrrha Nikos**

 **...**

"Mommy look! It's so fluffy." The little red haired girl giggled, fingers lightly running over the wriggling insect.

"Pyrrha! Oh, you have no idea where that's been!" Her Mother stormed over, worry in her eyes and authority in her voice. The child - stunned by the sudden outburst and overcome with worry that she was in trouble - shrunk in on herself and blushed deeply, mud covered hands cupping over the small colorful creature.

"But it's pretty... and I found it." The six year old mumbled, shuffling bashfully under her Mother's stare.

"Put it back in the garden, Pyrrha." She frowned, vermilion brows knitted together. Pyrrha's bright green eyes widened up at her Mother, pleading.

"B-But, Mo-

"Now, young lady." The Nikos Matriarch pointed to the door of which her daughter just came. Pyrrha sniffed and looked past her Mother to the giant marble room, glossy surfaces reflecting her prim and proper dinner guests, all looking at the six year old with a slight air of disgust to her muddy antics. "Pyrrha, now I said!"

"FINE!" Pyrrha stamped her foot, turning and stomping out of the door into the garden. Her Mother instantly softened and dropped her face into her palm, groaning as she massaged her brow.

"I hate telling her off, so much." She sighed, turning back to her guests. They all slapped on plastic smiles, a room pungent with perfume. She sat at the head of the gold etched table, fancy silverware clinking as she tugged her seat back in.

"It's okay, Juno. She's just an... excitable average six year old." A frost white haired woman at the opposite end of the table smiled, taking a swig of wine like it was water. "You're a wonderful mother."

"Thank you Willow." Juno smiled weakly, biting her lip as she looked out the huge decorative window to the Grecian gardens. Pyrrha sniffed and frowned, wiping her eyes with the heel of her free hand, bending down by a bush of lilac. Bees buzzed from plant to plant, cobwebs bridged silken skein from branch to branch, the tiniest of ecosystems existing under mankind's nose.

Pyrrha whimpered with glassy eyes at her telling off, and having to give up her newfound friend.

"W-Why ca-can't I have friends?" She whispered to herself through little hiccuping gasps, having to watch the colorful Caterpillar leave her hand, it's irradiating warmth removed from her palm. As it slowly wiggled up the leaves, Pyrrha frowned and stood up at her full three feet height. She sniffed and wiped her nose, smearing a track of dry mud across her nasal.

Sniffling she padded with a slouch around the maze of garden's outside the monolithic Nikos residence. Huge colonnades of carved marble glistened in the mid day sun like inlays of diamonds, above the massive gardens and their pollinating plants. The little red haired girl was made no cheerier by the chirping birds frolicking in the fountain, flicking reflective jewels of water up into the air.

It did give her something to look at though, as she sat on one of the small oak benches by an overhanging birch tree. Emerald eyes, dulled by upset and neglect, watched with barely any interest in the chirping birds. Her eyes flit up to the deep blue sky overhead, to the hazy curve of the shattered moon, barely visible in the day's hold.

She gulped and narrowed her eyes to silently count the fragments of debris cluttering it's broken orbit. Her fear of the moon had less effect on her during the day. Maybe it was the lack of it's bright light, maybe it was down to the lack of the pitch black dark of night, maybe it was the two combined. All little Pyrrha Nikos knew was that the Moon was scarier at night, when it was at full power, when the Sun lay it's control over to the broken satellite.

She looked down to the bird bath again, to the jet black Jackdaw sat on the tip top of the womanly sculpture, her stone jug pouring constant water into the bath beneath. Pyrrha raised a brow at the much larger bird as it tapped it's feet down the sculpture's curves in a sideways manor. The smaller Robins and Finches soon vacated the glistening clear water of the birdbath to the Jackdaw, it's presence seemingly fear inducing.

Pyrrha however was captivated by the jet black bird, watching it nibble it's long charcoal beak beneath it's feathered wing. She gripped the edges of the bench and kicked her little legs back and forth, muddied red shoes flaking off their dried dirt. She watched the bird of blackness skip through the water with little splashes, beady red eyes turning this way and that in sharp jagged motions.

"Hello." Pyrrha said, gingerly getting up off of the bench and ever so slowly pacing over, timid steps. "My name is Pyrrha. Do you have a name?"

The bird turned it's head to her, cawing loudly, making her hitch a breath, but she persevered, aiming to be closer.

"Do you want to be friends?" She asked with a smile, just as the bird deemed her too close, flapping it's wings and taking off into the midday warmth. "Wait!"

Pyrrha sniffed and watched the bird disappear into the distance, her heart broken once more. Oh how she just wanted to have someone to play with! Someone to at least talk to. She scuffed her boots to the gravel and decided to do another slow lap of the gardens surrounding her house... her prison.

"Pyrrha? Are you out here, my dear?" Came the loud and gruff voice of her Father, a tone she recognized instantly. She bit her lip and tried to ready herself for the inevitable disciplining. Hands behind her back and putting on her biggest puppy dog eyes, she watched her giant father round the corner in his usual Mistrali garb.

A long red silken robe wrapped around his neck and cloaked over his right arm, bare chest beneath revealing broad muscles of a warrior. A leather _pteryges_ skirt covered him down to his thighs, then his bronze greaves. His left arm bore a bronze gauntlet, which normally his _Hoplite_ shield would attach to. He'd obviously just gotten back from a hunt.

A bushy red beard attached to his long wavy slick backed vermilion locks. Said beard and mustache curled up at the edges as he lay eyes on his daughter, hazel eyes filled with warmth. He sighed heavily and stepped over to her, Pyrrha bashfully swiveling the tip of her shoe into the ground.

"Am I in trouble? I'm sorry, really!" Pyrrha whimpered. Her Father smiled a small chortle and his huge hands easily swallowed her sides, picking her up and sitting onto the bench by the birdbath. He sat her on his knee and smiled to her.

"Whatever would you be in trouble for?"

"Umm..." Pyrrha pushed her index fingers together in an absolutely adorable display of bashfulness. "I brought a Caterpillar into the house."

Her Father erupted into laughter, the red haired 'Zeus' looking man slapping his other knee with mirth. Pyrrha gingerly giggled at his reaction. Was she still in trouble? He sobered into small chuckles, hands supporting Pyrrha's lithe back.

"That's my girl. No, _Amica Mea_ , you're not in trouble." he smiled as he looked his daughter over, sausage sized thumb smoothing the messy hair out of her face. "If anyone's in trouble, it'll be me." He winked, Pyrrha smiling at him, her big rounded cheeks pushing up under her eyes, dimples galore on the six year old.

"Where've you been, Father?"

"On the hunt, little one." he touched her nose fondly.

"Grimm?"

"Mmm. Big one." He smiled as he knew those two words would instantly enrapture her to know more. Her emerald eyes widened as he predicted.

"What was it?!" she bounced on his knee, laughter leaving his lips.

"An Ursa Major."

"Wow..." Pyrrha's eyes widened even further.

"And..."

"AND?!" Pyrrha gasped. "What else?!" She bounced again.

"King Taijitu." he smirked as she bounced eagerly.

"Whoa... did you beat it?" She asked as he picked her up to set her on her own two feet. "Them?"

"Of course. Are you doubting your old man?" he chuckled, ruffling her red hair. Pyrrha whined and tried to shove his huge hand away, much to his mirth. He sobered with a sigh and rubbed his face. "Your Mother tells me you haven't been very happy lately."

Pyrrha's smile dropped and she bashfully looked to her instantly wringing hands. "No?"

"Pyrrha Nikos. You wouldn't lie to your Father, would you?" he stood up, smiling despite his imposing figure shadowing her. She fidgeted and looked away.

"I want friends."

"Hmm? I didn't hear you, Amica Mea." he bent down beside her. Pyrrha blushed harder with embarrassment.

"I want... some friends."

"Oh. Well, you'll be starting at Sanctum soon. You'll be fine, we worked hard to improve your shield work, didn't we?" He gently squeezed her shoulder.

"I know how to fight." Pyrrha mumbled, turning to him. "I don't know how to make friends."

"I see. Well, when they see you in action, my incredibly skilled six year old daughter, they'll come flocking to be friends with you!"

"You think?" Pyrrha asked with a plea for it to be true. Her Father nodded with a thick swallow.

"Of course. You'll be the most popular one there." he chuckled, ruffling her hair.

...

"Eight years old, huh?" the teacher said with a fond smile, nodding to the brightly colored badge with the number eight pinned to her brown top. "Well, Happy Birthday, Pyrrha." She smiled, leaving the red head to continue coloring in her drawings.

"Thank you." Pyrrha said, looking around the room, at how empty all the chairs around her were. She sighed and frowned, looking back to her little book, scratching the blue pastel around the outlines of the clouds.

"We'll be getting ready for lunch, and then after that we'll do some gentle sparring. Gentle, remember, okay class?" The purple haired teacher exclaimed to her class as the little ones continued their light murmurs of conversation.

"Yes Mrs Lavender!" they all called back to their beloved teacher, a class of mixed hair colors ranging to each end of the spectrum, and a welcomed integration of Faunus children too. Mrs Lavender gave a curt nod and sat at her desk, looking at her watch.

"Ten minutes to lunch, so speak like this..." She dropped her voice to a very low tone, the children giggling at their animated teacher. "... And continue doing your drawings on what makes you happy." she smiled to the class of dinky seven to eight year old's.

Pyrrha put down her blue pastel in it's designated spot alongside the color coordinated others. She picked up the green and began to color in the trees and bushes, only going outside the lines a little bit. With her tongue poking out of the corner of her lips, she focused hard on getting it just right. She heard a flurry of giggles and looked up, short vermilion ponytail bobbing as she searched for the sounds.

She saw them. A group sat at a far table, smiling and giggling as they shared stories and jokes, coloring all the while. When one didn't have a color, another did and would happily share between them.

Pyrrha however had _every_ color in the spectrum laid out beside her. She decided not to decipher the cruel irony in having nothing yet everything. She _was_ only eight, but even at that age she could see what she wanted, and what she had, and where something was definitely missing.

"Hey umm... Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked up with a start at the bashful dog eared boy, scratching the back of his head, cobalt eyes avoiding hers.

"Hello!" Pyrrha beamed. "What's your na-"

"Can we borrow the brown please? Our table doesn't have one." he asked with a shrug. Pyrrha's smile dropped and she sighed, shrinking down on herself, picking up the brown pastel.

"Here you go." she handed it to him with a huff.

"Thanks." And he walked back to his table, his tail instantly wagging behind him at being the savior, holding up the pastel Pyrrha gave him, to which his table quietly cheered and giggled. She stayed sat alone and frowned, picking up the black pastel and angrily coloring in the white cloud over her house, not caring as she went outside the lines.

...

Lunch time was no different. Sat alone, Pyrrha opened her Pumpkin Pete's lunchbox and fished out her wrapped sandwich. She sighed and undid the plastic wrapping, lifting the sandwich to her lips and taking a bite. Emerald eyes scanned the playground, watching the other kids playing with a ball, kicking it to and fro, laughter echoing all around.

Pyrrha sighed and looked down at her lunchbox's contents. She was a star combatant for her age, down to her Father's training since she was an infant, and in such had to eat like one. A sandwich was as far as calories went, the rest of her meal containing an apple and a bottle of water.

She finished her sandwich in silence, until a ball skipped along the floor to her, the spongy ball rolling to a stop by her shoes.

"Can you kick it back?!" One of the children called.

Pyrrha smiled and put her lunchbox aside, picking up the ball and doing just that, kicking it across the playground towards them.

"Thanks!" They called, returning to playing. No invitation for her to join them. Nothing. She put it down to the fact they obviously saw her eating her lunch and didn't want to be rude. Yeah... that.

She perched back on the stone wall and silently ate her lunch, watching the other kids play, watching them form bonds, make friendships that'll no doubt last a lifetime. She looped some red hair out of her eyes and nibbled at her lunch, unawares of Mrs Lavender watching with a deep wash of concern in her lilac eyes.

So it came as no surprise that afternoon that she sat at her desk opposite Mr and Mrs Nikos. Lavender huffed and laced her fingers together, chin resting atop her twined digits. Hazel and green eyes watched Lavender, until she shrugged and looked at the window.

"I'm worried about Pyrrha."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry?" both parents leaned forward, a rather perturbed look in her Father's eyes, and a concern laced plea in her Mother's. Lavender huffed and set her hands on the desk, sliding them idly back into her lap.

"Juno. Anaximander. Your daughter is a wonderful student. She's so warm and polite, does exactly as I ask-"

"So she's a model student. Perfect grades? Excelling in combat?" Her Father, Anaximander, leaned forward with intrigue in his gaze.

"She's an A grader for sure. But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about her... forgive me, but her lack of friends." Lavender sighed, looking out the window to the playground.

"Pfft, my daughter? No, she's top of her class, they should be flocking to be her friend!" Anaximander laughed, Juno gulping and wringing her hands as she too stared out the window.

"You have a funny perception of friends, Mister Nikos." Lavender sighed heavily. "She's the best fighter in my class, she can speak fluent Mistrali, bar a few words - though that's to be expected of an eight year old - and can do math in her head even I can't. But her social skills? Zilch. Nada." Lavender huffed. Juno and Anaximander looked stunned at the statement.

"I don't think-"

"Look outside. Look at her." Lavender said with raw emotion. All eyes in the class fell to the tiny red haired eight year old as she stood alone in a sea of students readying to go home. Children laughed and ran around, while right in the middle with a wide berth, Pyrrha shuffled her feet and kicked a ball haphazardly, barely moving it a foot as the incline in the tarmac let it roll back down to her shoe.

"She's in serious danger of not being able to form any sort of meaningful bonds in the future. At this age, the most important thing is that she make friends, not be able to throw a spear into a damned bullseye!" Lavender snapped, pinching her brow.

"Oh my baby." Juno whimpered, desperately fighting that motherly ache in her belly to run outside and wrap her in a hug.

"But... she's top of her class, right?" Anaximander asked. Lavender froze.

"Yeah." She scoffed. "Yeah, she's doing great. Guess there aren't that many distractions when you can't make friends." she snarled. Quickly she calmed, sobering a sigh into her hand. "Mr and Mrs Nikos. Right now, I think it is imperative that you focus on Pyrrha making friends, or she _will_ struggle with making bonds in the future."

"She will continue to train as we have done since day one, Mrs Lavender." Anaximander snapped. "I won't say this to my daughter's face, but friendships are not as important as developing the skills needed to be a master in the field."

"You surely don't believe that?" Lavender looked to Juno as she sighed and looked to her husband as he bare his teeth.

"I love my daughter very much, do not misread that. She's the best thing I have ever had a part in. Best thing I've ever made. But her social skills _will_ pick up later on in life. I didn't have friends growing up, just my Father and his tutelage, and I turned out just fine."

"Of course." Lavender huffed. "I can't force you to change anything. But... I am deeply concerned for how this will affect Pyrrha in years to come."

"She will be fine. She'll do great things, I know it. She will be the very best, friends be damned. People who'll just drag her down. You'll see."

"See what, Anaximander? Because right now, I see someone who in the years to come won't be proud of the 'Great Pyrrha Nikos', but proud of being the man who _trained_ the 'Great Pyrrha Nikos'... and oh, how there is _such_ a difference between the two."

...

"YAAAGH!" She yelled, throwing her discus shield over arm at her opponent. Whistling through the air, slicing through the blue flesh of the sky, Her bronze shield clattered into his own, Anaximander staggering back with a hearty chuckle.

"Atta girl! Hah! Such an improvement!" he grinned, rolling his arm and massaging the ropes of muscle. Pyrrha huffed and stabbed her spear into the sand, crossing her arms and resting her wrists on the hilt of said weapon. Propping her chin on her arms and crossing one foot over the other, her emerald eyes darkened. Anaximander caught on, sighing as he set his own shield down.

"Pyrrha? Are you okay? I know the shield is a hand-me-down from your Mother, but she wanted you to have Akouo." He stepped over to her, care and concern laced in his gravelly tones. The beating sun of Mistral's summer illuminated the vivid pink flowers on the overhanging tree above, making them all look like vibrant lanterns of lilac light.

The shadows of said tree swayed to and fro in the gentle breeze, harboring them safely from the sun's roaring heat for but a moment. Pyrrha looked up at her Father and shrugged, lifting her head from her wrists.

"I'm sorry Father. It's not that. I love my shield. I love my new spear. Thank you again." Pyrrha smiled to him. "I could have bought it myself though." She frowned, her selfless nature bubbling up as always. Anaximander laughed.

"You shouldn't have to spend your winnings on weapons and maintenance. That's my forte." Anaximander chuckled, huge hand engulfing her shoulder.

"I have nothing else to spend it on. Nobody to treat." She huffed, pulling her spear out of the dirt and spinning it through her fingers. A mechanical gurgling sounded and the spear shrunk to a sword. Anaximander sighed.

"This again?"

"Yes, Father. Nobody likes me at that school!" Pyrrha huffed, sitting on the sandstone step of the Nikos family's private amphitheater. She hugged the bronze plating of her knees, emerald eyes darting to the sand as it washed gritty warmth over her bare toes and sandals.

"Jealousy is an ugly color." Anaximander sighed.

"And yet I wear it oh so well!" Pyrrha sarcastically grumbled, rolling her eyes. Her Father seated beside her with an aged groan, looking out at the lush green gardens over the top of the stone Amphitheater walls, where the sandy colors met the hazy blue sky. "If anyone's jealous, Father... it's me."

"Why ever so?" Anaximander leaned on his knees. Pyrrha raised her eyebrow at him skeptically.

"Because they have what I don't, Father?"

"What did I tell you? That friends will come in time, and that your training _must_ come first for you to excel. I want you to have a bright future, Pyrrha."

"And yet the present is awful. I can't wait to leave Sanctum." She huffed, looking up at the lilac buds hanging over her head. Anaximander sighed heavily, lacing his fingers together and tapping his thumbs.

"Do you believe in Destiny, Pyrrha?" He asked his daughter. She lifted a brow and listened. "Yes, well, I suppose the issue with Destiny is a loaded question. Nearly everyone wants to believe in the concept. Of course, like everything, there are people who may believe that there's no Gods, no purpose and no point to life, but it's incredibly tough living that philosophy out in the day-to-day problems we endure." He huffed.

"You have grown into a wonderful young woman, Pyrrha. Blossoming with wonderful potential! I have never - never - seen anyone fight like you do at the young age of fourteen. It's incredible. You have a heart of pure gold... that you get from your Mother." Anaximander chuckled dryly. "Destiny is what you make it. What you make out of what you have." He sighed heavily, patting his hands on his knees. "You just need... to... talk to them."

"Huh?" Pyrrha looked at him.

"Go ahead and talk to them. See if friendships can blossom." He chuckled weakly with a shrug. "I see your incredible warrior skills in the ring, but... I must admit that I fear the rest of you is going to waste."

"Really?"

"Mmm."

"So... I should just... talk to them?"

"Yes. See what happens." he looked at her with a hard glare. "No boyfriends though."

"Oh no, of course Father." She chuckled, holding up her hands in surrender. She instantly hugged him, sighing into his neck. "Thanks... daddy."

"Whatever you need sweetheart." He smiled, rubbing her back softly. "As long as you make sure you have a Destiny worth living for."

...

The next day, Pyrrha woke with a smile, brushing her teeth and hair after a quick shower. She quickly dressed and almost tripped down the stairs. "Oof!"

"Pyrrha! Are you okay?" Juno asked from the kitchen, sighing relief at the waving hand as it raised over the top of the oak cabinet.

"I'm okay! Sorry!"

"Stop apologizing for doing nothing wrong!" Juno sung as she clicked Pyrrha's lunchbox shut and handed it to her, her teen daughter smoothing the creases out of her skirt. "So... why so chipper? Usually you're like a bag of rocks in the morning." Juno chuckled, hands on her womanly hips. Pyrrha shrugged, drumming her fingers against her box.

"No reason. I just... I'm going to try and make some friends today. Father gave me a few tips on how. I just need to... take some initiative I guess." She smiled. Juno kissed her forehead and smiled.

"There's my gorgeous girl."

"Mother!" Pyrrha blushed. "I'm going to be late. I'll see you later!"

"Have a lovely day sweetheart!"

"Thank you!"

So, soon the lithe athlete arrived at Sanctum, her smile replaced with a nervous curl as she paced into her class, sitting in her usual seat on her own. Though to her surprise, the four usually empty seats around her slid out and were filled with beaming girls.

"Hi Pyrrha!" they all said, scarily in unison. Pyrrha yelped but instantly calmed.

"Oh... hello. I'm sorry, I don't have much for you to borrow today-"

"No silly, we're here cos we wanna be friends with you!" The blonde exclaimed brightly. Pyrrha thought it odd, their sudden forwardness, especially on the day she was going to take the initiative. But, not being one to turn down a good opportunity, she smiled and offered her hand.

"That sounds lovely! I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"We know! The Invinci-Ow! hey." A lime green haired girl massaged the back of her head after the obvious ring leader of the group smiled while retracting her hand.

"Don't mind her. Nice to meet you Pyrrha!" She beamed. "I'm Cider. This is Chartreuse, that's Dandelion and finally there's Lapis."

"Hey Pyrrha!" They exclaimed, Orange, green, yellow and blue all smiling to her. Pyrrha nervously blushed and grinned to herself. She was going to have to tell her Parents later. Tell them she had finally made a group of friends!

...

"Wowzers! You weren't kidding when you said you lived in a big house!" Chartreuse exclaimed as Pyrrha let her new friends into her house with a giddy bounce in her step.

"Yes, well... our family's done quite well."

"No kidding! So have you! We saw your match the other day! You're fourteen and earning some serious Lien!" Chartreuse chuckled. Pyrrha bashfully rubbed the back of her head, giggling weakly.

"Yes, well... it's not about the money to me." Pyrrha smiled humbly. "Come, I'll introduce you to my Mother." Pyrrha walked deeper into the extravagant Nikos residence, over glossy marble floors that made no more than a pitter-patter to their feet. "Mom?"

"Yes dear, I'm in the study!" Juno called, Pyrrha walking over to the adjacent door.

"Oh okay. Can we come in?" Pyrrha asked, as the door opened with a click. Juno's eyes widened with a beaming smile.

"Well, who are these fine young ladies?"

"My frie-

"Friends of Pyrrha Nikos!" Lapis bounced, grinning. Pyrrha shrugged bashfully.

"I see." Juno raised a skeptical brow. "I was just finishing up some paperwork. Your Father is out but he'll be back soon."

"Oh okay. I'll show my friends around and... go in the garden." Pyrrha smiled, Juno nodding as they walked away. Her smile dropped as she watched the teens following her daughter, at how they marveled to the extravagances... and not her daughter. She shook her head of such thoughts and shut the door once more.

"Your Mom seems nice." Cider smiled as she paced next to Pyrrha. "This home is huge though! What does your family do for a living?"

"Oh well... Mother works as a secretary at Haven academy, and Father is a renowned Gladiator and Huntsmen." She smiled proudly.

"And you're the Invincible girl!" Lapis exclaimed, Dandelion slapping her head. "Ow."

"I... Yes, I suppose I am. B-But just call me Pyrrha. We are friends after all, right?" Pyrrha asked with a gulp.

"Oh of course, Pyrrha! We're just interested in your family." Cider smiled. Pyrrha nodded to herself.

"Oh. Natural, I guess. Come, I'll show you the gardens." Pyrrha walked ahead, Cider dropping back to frown at Lapis.

"You almost blew it! C'mon, think of the big picture! We get to be the friends of Pyrrha Nikos. She's gonna get more famous as she gets older, and we'll be the friends who were with her through all of it!"

"Yeah... okay." Lapis nodded. The four "Friends" followed Pyrrha out into the afternoon heat, each breath of air hot and almost suffocating. Their eyes bulged as Pyrrha gestured lazily to the swing set, currently covered up Jacuzzi tub, and other assortments of toys.

"Whoa! I call the swings!" Lapis ran straight past Pyrrha, followed by the others.

"W-Well I-"

"C'mon Dandelion, don't hog it."

"Hey, there's plenty to go around! Grab your own swing!"

"What about the slide over there?!"

Pyrrha gaped and stammered to speak, but decided simply to sigh and try to engage in some fun. Instead she sat on the edge of the play area and watched them all swing and giggle.

An hour past of playing before Pyrrha got up and walked over, clearing her throat. Cider looked over at her, feet digging into the wooden chips to stop her swing.

"May I have a swing?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." Cider got up. "I'll go over there, hey wait up Dandelion!" Cider ran off in a laugh. Pyrrha sat on the swing, turning to face Lapis, who was also gone, just a slowly swaying seat in her place. Pyrrha sighed and looked over her shoulder at them all playing together, and a horrible thought hit her.

"What if they're just using me?"

She shook her head and let go of the chains, hopping off of the seat and padding over to them as they frolicked near the slide, the metal baking hot in the heat.

"Hey, Pyrrha, you got a pool?"

"Well... We have a Jacuzzi tub... if that counts." She wrung her hands together. "Umm, say, friends, wh-"

"Oh, what about a Spa?" Lapis asked as she slid down the slide with a loud squeak of skin on metal. Pyrrha frowned.

"No, we don't."

"Oh that's odd, usually these MANSIONS have stuff like that."

"What about a Tennis court?" Dandelion butt in, eagerness on her face.

"A maid?" Chartreuse asked.

"What about one of those atlas robots that cleans your house?" Cider asked.

"NO! No, we don't!" Pyrrha snapped, silencing them.

"Whoa. Chill out Pyrrha, we were just asking what you had."

"Yeah, you make a lot of money, we figured you'd have cool stuff." Lapis blurted. Pyrrha gasped and her eyes watered. The truth come out, not even a full twenty four hours after making "New Friends." Her assumption was correct. They were using her, for her spoils, her family's wealth. It cut deeper than any dagger could.

"Get. Out." Pyrrha's fists shook by her hips as she stared at her feet, the lump in her throat growing steadily heavier and thicker.

"Huh? But Pyrrha, We're friends-"

"GET OUT! You're not friends, you're just... just... Opportunists! F-Freeloaders! PARASITES!" Pyrrha yelled, diamonds of salty water wobbling under her emerald eyes.

"Hey, that's uncalled for-"

"You're using me, because I make winnings from fights, and buy all this... useless stuff to fill the void of having no one! Now get out!"

"Suit yourself. Be lonely." Cider snapped, jumping off the slide. "C'mon guys. Invincible girl's had enough of us." She spat, walking around Pyrrha as her tears splatted down onto the toes of her shoes. One by one they walked away, through the side gate of the garden. As soon as it shut, Pyrrha burst, sobbing uncontrollably as she crushed the slide with her semblance, her hands glowing jet black and folding steel like it was flimsy paper. When the slide was a ball of crushed steel, she turned and ripped the chains of the swing set apart, and all the other playthings she'd accumulated to fill the void of loneliness.

She ran into the house, unable to see through the blurry vision of salty tears. Juno immediately stood from her desk at the muffled sounds she knew all too well as crying. Opening the door, she watched Pyrrha run down the hall into her bedroom, slamming the door.

"Pyrrha?!" She stepped out and padded over to the door, marked _'Pyrrha's room. Stay out please.'_ "Amica Mea, what's wrong?"

"I hate everyone! I hate everything!" she cried through the door. "They u-used me, Mom! For m-my name... my... useless toys! I feel so stupid!"

Juno sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily. "Oh honey. I'm so sorry. Open the door... let mommy in."

"Go away!" Pyrrha cried. "Please!"

Juno bit her lip to not cry herself, shaking her head to the ceiling.

"Why? Why couldn't she just meet some nice, genuine people?" Juno breathed. "I'm coming in, Pyrrha."

She turned the door knob to resistance, seeing the blackened cloud around the metal. "Pyrrha... please, let me in."

"No! Go away, please! Leave me alone like everybody else does!" Juno sighed and her motherly bond overcame Pyrrha's semblance, her hand dropping a gentle ribbon of golden light over the door knob, freeing it from Pyrrha's hold. She opened the door and stepped in, Pyrrha's bloodshot and watery eyes lifting in shock.

"Oh please, every Mother has the ability to overcome their child's semblance. It's a mystery of our evolution, a beautiful flaw, exploited by Mother's to help their stubborn, hurting children. But that's not important." Juno sat on the edge of Pyrrha's bed as her daughter buried her face in the pillow to sob.

"I really-gasp-thought I'd made some friends, Mom." Pyrrha sobbed, muffled into the cotton. Juno smoothed her hand down her daughter's back, hushing her gently.

"I know honey, but people can be cruel. They can forget that we all stem from the same earth... and treat everyone differently due to color, race, and wealth."

"I'd rather be poor... and have friends." Pyrrha sniffled. Juno smiled sadly.

"Mmm. Yes, well... Someday, you'll meet someone, I know it. Someone who won't see you for all of this..." She huffed, looking at the documents on Pyrrha's desk, a sponsorship deal with her signature at the bottom, 'Pumpkin Pete's' printed on the title. "Another Sponsorship?"

"Mmm... it expires when I'm eighteen. Seemed reasonable." Pyrrha sniffed and sobbed into her pillow, hugging it around her face.

"Four years. Very nice. I'm so proud of you, Pyrrha. Fourteen pushing fifteen, and taking on all this. But, it also concerns me. That you're losing out on a childhood."

"It doesn't matter, Mom." Pyrrha sniffed, sitting up with a broken gaze hidden behind the wobble of her tears. "Like Father said... I'll just focus on all this... my career. Friends will just use me." she looked down, her gaze lifted by the motherly grip on her chin.

"Not real friends, Pyrrha. They'll look after you, cherish you... I know it. Don't give up on people yet, Pyrrha. Don't give up on friendship or... even love. Don't give up on any of it."

Pyrrha sniffled, wiping her eye. "I'll try, Mom." She whispered hoarsely, looking at the wooden rocking horse in the corner. "I'll try."

...

Kicking her legs to and fro, hands wringing subconsciously in her lap, the teen worried her lip with her teeth. She looped a vermilion lock behind her ear, blinking her bright green eyes to the blinding mid day sun's rays. The day's heat was suffocating, having to breathe in barely satisfactory breaths of hot air, like huffing carbon dioxide. As customary to a hot summers day in Vale, the Cicadas were out in droves, deafening and constant chirps echoing through the meadow.

With leather heeled boots firmly hooked over one of the lower runs of the fence, Pyrrha played with her digits some more, closing her eyes and listening to the beautiful chorus sung by the Cicadas. Perched on the fence, she had a wonderful view of Vale's wide open farmland, stretching for miles, before disappearing into the hazy blue mountains.

"Hey, I wondered where you got to." Jaune softly said, Pyrrha startling and snapping her head to the sound of his tones. Resting his crossed arms over the fence post, he sat his chin atop his wrists, looking out over the fields.

"Oh. I just wanted a moment, that's all." Pyrrha shrugged, fidgeting on the slightly uncomfortable wooden beam. "It's a beautiful view."

"Yeah it is." Jaune smiled, relaxing his muscles to the calming warmth of the sun, and the chirping Cicadas. Pyrrha smiled lightly, pinching the fleshy tip of her index finger through her glove, bending it back and forth lightly.

"See a lot of farmland back home?" Jaune broke the quiet. Pyrrha smiled lightly and bobbed her shoulders once more.

"Not really. Mistral is quite... Mountainous, I suppose you could say. Not really a lot of flat land to grow crops." Pyrrha explained in her soothing regal tones that Jaune honestly could fall asleep listening to. They were that calming to him. "I... might have to admit - and it's slightly embarrassing - that I've never seen sugar cane before. Or wheat crops." She blushed. Jaune's eyes widened, lifting his head and climbing up the slightly rickety fence to perch beside her. He too kicked his legs gingerly.

"Really? W-Well what does Mistral do for food?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha smiled to herself. She enjoyed Jaune's company so much, that even little conversations about their cultural differences pleased her.

"We grow a few crops on plateaus outside of the main city, but... other than that, we have good trade in fish, and buy in foods from other kingdoms." Her eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot, Mistral is known for it's rice paddies. They farm near the lakes at the foot of Mount Krondokinni. Mistral is known for it's delicious rice dishes and sushi... Jaune?"

"Sorry, just trying to understand that gibberish you said back then." he shook his head. "Mount... w-what?"

Pyrrha giggled lightly and shoved his shoulder gently. "Mount Krondokinni."

"Yeah, Pyr, just saying it again doesn't help me out." Jaune scoffed. Pyrrha smirked at him with a roll of her eyes.

"Krondo... " Pyrrha said slowly.

"Krondo... " Jaune copied just as slowly.

"Kinni... " Pyrrha smiled.

"Kinni?" Jaune raised a brow.

"Krondokinni!" She exclaimed brightly, wide eyed.

"Gazuntite."

"Jaune!" She giggled into her palm, shoving him playfully, her leader yelping and falling off the fence with a thud. "I can't help it if your balance is all wrong." She smirked as he sat up in a groaning chuckle. Her smile sobered though, looking down at her hands. "I've just been thinking."

"About?" Jaune asked as he got up, dusting off his jeans. Pyrrha smiled lightly.

"My parents. Things back home, I guess. Things to come here." She huffed.

"Ah. The Vytal Tournament?" Jaune hopped back onto the fence, raising a brow. Pyrrha scoffed, looking up at the cloud of glistening insects swirling over the crops, reflecting the light on their wings like a hurricane of crystals. "Ah, we'll be fine, we've got you. You're the glue that holds us together." He elbowed her lightly, Pyrrha chuckling.

"Oh. well, thank you, Jaune." she beamed. He never once referred to her combat abilities being the only aspect she could bring to the table. Instead - in true Jaune fashion - he called her the important being who helps hold their team together. Even if she didn't fully believe the praise. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For being you. Being my rock in a sea of... issues. I can always talk to you." She smirked and blushed. "You're my guilty pleasure."

"That, and chocolate." he grinned, Pyrrha's emerald eyes widening. "Don't deny it, I saw the wrapper under your bed."

"I-It was a treat, I had earned it." She blushed, flipping her long wolf tail of vermilion locks over her shoulder.

"Mmm... Ah, in all seriousness though... you're welcome, Pyrrha."

"Thank you. All the same." She smiled, shuffling over to him along the fence, before resting her head on his shoulder with a content sigh. Jaune visibly stiffened, before calming and eventually resting his head atop hers.

"Anytime, Pyrrha. You're my best friend after all." Jaune hummed. Pyrrha beamed and closed her eyes. "What flowers did you have back home?"

"Huh?" Pyrrha furrowed her brow, opening one eye to look up at him. He caught sight of the bright green eye and grinned.

"You were teaching me about Mistral. Sooo... what flowers? Back home."

"Oh. Well... in my Mother's garden, she had petunias, Lilacs, tulips. The Roses were pretty in the summer especially." Pyrrha chuckled lightly, Jaune smiling at her mirth.

"W-What?"

"Well, I once brought a Caterpillar into the house. When I was a little girl. Six, I believe. Mother told me to take it back outside... " She looked up at Jaune fully, biting her grinning lip. "I let it go into the bushes. Well, that Caterpillar went on to devour almost all of her lilacs." She winced. Jaune snorted and shook his head.

"Bad girl, Pyrrha. Bad girl."

"I didn't know it was _that_ hungry of a beast! Bigger appetite than Nora." She shrugged, happily resting her head on his shoulder again. "Don't laugh! I got in big trouble." She sighed contently to the warmth of Jaune around her. "What about you?"

"Letting Caterpillars go?" Jaune asked, wincing as the closed eyes, content Nikos thumped his leg. "Ow okay, okay! I once tried to prank my sisters by propping a bucket of ice water over the door."

"Uh oh." Pyrrha smiled brightly as she snuggled deeper into his side.

"Yep. Didn't count on Mom coming home first and walking in. Splash! Biiiiiig trouble for that one." he grinned weakly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "Ah stupid things we do as kids."

"Mmm." Pyrrha's brow scrunched and her eyes opened. "Jaune?"

"Yeah?" He asked softly, content in feeling her vermilion locks ruffling against his cheek.

"I'm... thankful for you. You... you mean a lot to me." She hugged his arm tightly, closing her eyes and snuggling into his neck. Jaune smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, blushing at their closeness. He gulped and rested his head on hers.

"You mean a lot to me too."

...

 _When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life..._

 _None of this was supposed to happen..._

 _I'm sorry..._

 _Do you believe in Destiny?_

 _..._

"With a quivering hand, she picked up the torch! Her legs trembled with fear, to the knocking within the closet door! Then - don't laugh, it's supposed to be scary - ahem - THEN! Then. Then she opened the door, and inside the closet was..."

"What?! What was it?!" Nora cried out, hugging Ren's arm tightly. Jaune grinned devilishly, taking a deep breath.

"It was... A HAND!" Jaune exclaimed, Nora and Ruby screaming and cowering into their partner's sides. Ren smirked and hugged the trembling Valkyrie, while Weiss frowned and tried to free herself from Ruby's incredibly strong grip.

"A hand? No way, was it Yang's?" Tai said, all of the kids gasping. Yang looked scandalized and hurt, everyone watching her intently for her reaction. It came as quite the surprise when Yang snorted and giggled, punching her Dad's arm.

"You jerk!" She laughed, Tai laughing too. Slowly JNPR and RWB shifted their nervous laughs and shared glances to genuine chuckles. "I gotta _hand_ it to ya, good story Jaune, if it _was_ a little cheesy." Yang sobered, hugging her knees and staring into the camp fire they were sat around. A warm orange glow flickered over their features, shadows dancing over their bodies like the reflective coils of light beneath the surface of the ocean.

"Thanks. Ah, thought of it on the fly." Jaune chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "So! Anybody else got any _scary_ campfire stories?"

"I do! I do!" Ruby bounced, hand held in the air. Weiss scoffed.

"Oh please. I can already guess how your story will go." she crossed her arms. Ruby frowned.

"Nuh uh."

"Yes, I believe I do. A girl or a boy will be in bed when they'll hear a noise from downstairs. They'll get up to investigate and it'll be the cookie monster." Weiss explained, Ruby frowning harder and crossing her arms. "See? Told you I knew you too well."

"Well I don't know whether to be flattered or angry!" Ruby yelled. "I'm... FLATTERED!" she yelled, before knitting her brows and angrily pouting to the flames of the campfire.

"No. What _you_ need is a truly well structured scary story with a beginning, middle and end, with a very sagacious plot. Allow me. Ahem." Weiss cleared her throat into her fist. Jaune smiled at the group, before sobering and looking to the house's front door. Blake nudged his arm, startling him.

"You okay?" she asked. Jaune nodded.

"Just... Pyrrha's been gone a while, don't ya think?" He shrugged. Blake raised a brow.

"Jaune, she went to use the bathroom. She'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know." he sighed. "Guess I'm just... a little overprotective of her still."

"I get that." Blake whispered over Weiss's story. "After what happened, I can see how her being out of sight for a while can... bring up old memories. Not savory ones either." She hugged her knees, cat ears flicking every now and then.

"Are... do you... " Jaune huffed. "Have you felt like that at Beacon? With Yang being here?"

"A bit, yeah. I worry she's in pain. But being here this weekend has helped massively. I mean, look at her smile." Blake beamed fondly over the lapping flames of the fire. "Doesn't she look happy to you?"

"Happiest I've ever seen her." Jaune grinned.

"... Then the girl took a deep inhale, before picking up the _'Schnee dust company'_ dust capsule-"

"No self promoting." Yang held a finger up. Weiss frowned.

"It's my story! Besides, who else makes Dust?"

"I dunno but I'm covered in dust, waiting for you to get to the scary part!" Yang grinned as she challenged.

"I'm setting the scene!" Weiss yelled back. "Now where was I... Ah yes. She took it upon herself to pick up the dust capsule and load it into the pistol. Then the sound came from the wall again. She was afraid, nervous-"

"But on the surface was she calm and ready?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, to drop bombs, but did she keep on forgetting what she wrote down?" Blake added.

"Mmm, did the whole crowd go so loud?" Jaune quipped.

"Yeah, did she open her mouth, but the words won't come out-" Yang grinned.

"STOP QUOTING LYRICS OVER MY STORY!" Weiss yelled, bouncing on the log she perched on. "Now. Where was I? Oh. And then she-"

"Boo!"

"AHHHHH!" Weiss screamed, hugging Ruby with wide welkin eyes. The collective around the fire burst into laughter as a giggling Pyrrha stepped back from behind Weiss. "P-Pyrrha!"

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist." the red head blushed. "I'm really sorry!"

"P-money that was gold!" Yang laughed, falling backwards off of her log with a giggly thump. Even Ren had to get a grip over his chuckling. Pyrrha wrapped her arms around the frowning Schnee, hugging her and apologizing over and over. She let go and padded back to her spot beside chortling Jaune, swiping a tear away from his eye.

"Pyrrha, that was so good!"

"Yeah!" Ruby laughed breathlessly. Weiss quirked a small smile.

"I-It wasn't funny!" Weiss tried to argue, but her own light giggling and twitching smile betrayed her. Pyrrha smiled and hugged her crimson cardigan around her waist, Jaune shuffling closer to her.

"That was really funny." he smiled fondly to her.

"Yeah, good one Pyrrha." Blake giggling in little hiccuping fits.

"Weiss' face!" Yang laughed breathlessly, legs kicking to the sky over the back of the log. "I can't breathe!"

Pyrrha smiled till her cheeks hurt, looking around at all of her friends, true friends who loved and cherished her. Her blush spread across her cheeks even redder, as Jaune found her hand in her lap and gave it a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him, two pairs of eyes filled with mirth and warm emotion, Before she rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his lips press into her red locks and his thumb smoothing over her knuckles.

She once tried to make friends with the wrong people. People who used her for her name, her title, her belongings. Turns out, that several years later, she'd be sat around a campfire, not just with her friends, with her teams, but with her _family._ With the people who cherished _Pyrrha_ , not _Pyrrha Nikos the Invincible girl_.

She never felt more at peace than she did in this very moment, cuddling with Jaune by a campfire, swapping stories, laughing till their jaws ached at the antics of her greatest investment ever. Her investment in them. Her investment she paid for not with Lien, but with her heart.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So that's that. Pyrrha's past, as suited to this Alternate Universe we've created together. I hope you enjoyed it. I love Pyrrha Nikos, she's the character that I tuned in to watch. Sure, I love all the other characters, but Pyrrha was something truly special. And her relationship with Jaune - growing from friendship to love was thwarted in literally five minutes. I want her back in the show, I really do. I didn't enjoy Vol 4 as much for many reasons, but the main one was the lack of Pyrrha and Arkos.**

 **Anyways, ranting done, I hope you enjoyed, and let me know if you want character development chapters on anyone else. Jaune? Blake? Yang and Ruby's childhood? Weiss? So many childhoods to look at and help develop them. Stay awesome guys, and I'll see you next time!**

 **\- Dave**


	9. Little Ducklings

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! You are all incredible, really. One hundred and three reviews, with only eight chapters! That is just incredible! I'm so glad you're all enjoying this so much, it warms my heart to see this many people enjoying my work!**

 **So I'm gonna be straight with you all, this chapter is basically a plot device, you know? Gotta show them getting back to Beacon, setting the plot back on it's tracks from their break, yadda yadda. So anyways, I hope you still enjoy this, the next one is going to be a fun one that I'm definitely looking forward to! See you then!**

* * *

 **Act One: Chapter Nine: Little Ducklings**

 **...**

 _"This world is unforgiving, Qrow. You and I both know that. A mother duck can have twenty ducklings, but the odds are only two will reach adulthood. The future of our world is hanging in the air right now, and you're trying to protect a group of ducklings where only a select few will reach the end. We both know why you left Beacon. To keep your little ducklings safe, because you care for them. Bad luck's followed you forever. And hell, maybe it was your bad luck that led to the attack, to the fall of the Tournament... Good thing you left when you did... or Beacon might have fallen completely._

 _You're looking for Raven... that's admirable. You left your nest of ducklings to protect them. Also admirable. But you must know... that you cannot keep either of them safe from_ _ **me**_ _..."_

...

"You sure you won't come back with us?" Jaune asked as he gave Yang a warm squeeze, separating the hug to lock his cerulean gaze onto her lilac eyes. Behind him, with rucksacks slung over their shoulders, the others all smiled warmly to the exchange of blondes. A light chuckle vented past Yang's lips, stroking her hand down her opposite upper arm bashfully.

"I... I can't right now. I just don't feel ready yet, that's all. I've got a lot of... stuff to figure out, I've gotta fix my bike for starters!" Yang gestured to the shed by the woodland's edge. Jaune nodded with a smile and lifted his head to meet her gaze. "... and, okay maybe I'm... a bit nervous about seeing everyone again like... well, this." she held up her cybernetic limb in front of Jaune's face.

"Okay. Well, take care Yang." Jaune beamed, hugging her once more, much to Yang's mirth. "We'll visit again real soon, I promise."

"Mmm, make sure you do." Yang smiled as the hug ended, smoothing her thumbs down Jaune's arms before he stepped down the porch to the dirt. Blake stepped up the wooden steps and embraced her partner, sighing contently as her open palm pressed a brand of heat to Yang's vested back.

"Are you gonna go to the dance? I'll text you the details when we get back to Beacon?" Blake murmured into Yang's messy tresses. Yang sighed and the hug reared apart.

"I... I dunno, Blake."

"It's not for a few more weeks. A-And we could really use your expertise on how to decorate. Otherwise it's Weiss' doilies everywhere." Blake rolled her amber eyes. Yang bit her lip to hide that famous Cheshire cat grin.

"Hey!" Weiss frowned from behind Ruby and Nora. Blake smiled lightly, but it faded as soon as Yang's did.

"I... I wouldn't get my hopes up." Yang hugged herself, eyes looking down guiltily. "I'm sorry Blake, but... I'm not ready for that yet... that sort of environment. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sorry for asking." Blake sighed, hugging her one last time. "It was selfish."

"Don't be silly, Blakey." Yang smiled as she gave the hug one last squeeze, gyros in her arm whirring. "I'll see you soon."

"Definitely." Blake smiled, before stepping down the steps. Yang rubbed the back of her head, gasping as her sister tightly hugged her.

"You already said goodbye, Rubes!" Yang managed to gasp out, face comically going blue. Ruby eventually let go and Yang gasped for air, hunched over, hands steadying atop her knees.

"Oops. Sorry Yang!" Ruby winced. "I'm just gonna miss you!"

"S'okay... " Yang chuckled breathlessly, standing up straight, popping the tension in her back. At that moment, the front door creaked further open and Taiyang filled the void, leaning against the architrave with a smile on his tanned face. He watched the exchange with a fond heart, both in his chest and evident on his face.

"W-We'll come visit as soon as we can! Two weeks! Two weeks at most, we promise!" Ruby yelled to the others with a small hint of desperation in her eyes.

"Yeah. Of course." Jaune smiled.

"I'm sure Professor Goodwitch will have no issue with us visiting Yang, Ruby." Pyrrha offered, hefting the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"We should get going if we're going to make our flight back." Ren offered sadly. Yang nodded and drummed a rhythm into the pale flesh of her upper arm.

"Yeah! Yeah, don't miss your flight guys!"

"Take care of yourself Yang. We'll see you soon, we promise." Weiss smiled, holding the strap of her bag and hefting it onto her shoulder. Yang smiled back with a warm wave. "Thank you for the hospitality, Taiyang." The Schnee beamed over the blonde brawler's head. Ruby hesitated on the steps, before whining and hugging Yang once more.

"I love you." Ruby breathed with misty eyes, balling up the orange vest. Yang blinked hard and hugged her tightly.

"I love you too, Ruby. Stay safe sis."

"You too. Look after her and Dad, Zwei!" Ruby yelled to the little Corgi sat by the front door. Ruby sniffed and separated, running into her Dad's arms to hug him tightly. "I love you Dad."

"Yeah, I love you too Ruby. Take care, okay? Promise me you'll be safe." Tai gave her a warm squeeze. Ruby nodded against the soft fabric of his shirt. She sniffled and pulled back out of the hug with wobbly silver eyes. Tai sighed softly and thumbed a tear off of her ashen skin.

"Hey, none of that now. We'll see you real soon, okay?" Tai whispered fondly. Ruby smiled and wiped her eyes. He looked up over Ruby to the patiently waiting others, his hands on Ruby's shoulders. "You guys take care too, okay? I don't want anymore bad news, ever."

"We will, sir." Ren smiled.

"Yeah, we got each other!" Nora beamed to him, stood close beside Ren. Tai smiled with a nod and his eyes befell on Pyrrha. She smiled, but sheepishly under his fatherly gaze.

"You got a second chance." He said to everyone, but his eyes on hers definitely told her the double meaning to his words. Pyrrha blushed lightly and her head shrunk down into her shoulders. "Don't waste it. Life's too short to think of the what ifs."

"We won't, we promise." Weiss offered, Pyrrha looking to her, but catching Jaune's warm blue eyes instead. He smiled lopsidedly to her and she quirked a smile back, before looking down at her shoes.

"Well, you've gotta flight to catch." Tai clapped before his chest, Ruby nodding and giving him a leaping hug and kiss on the cheek, before turning and briskly walking down the steps, because she knew if she stood there any longer, it'd be immeasurably harder to leave her family otherwise. She joined her extended family on the gravel and Weiss handed her her pack, slinging it over her red cloak.

"We'll see you soon, Yang. Thank you Tai, for offering your home to us." Ren gave a curt nod, Jaune nodding.

"Yeah. Thanks Tai. Look after yourself Yang." Jaune smiled. Yang nodded, Tai saluting.

"Don't worry bout that, Vomit boy. Got a lot of stuff I gotta do before I come back. Busy bee!" Yang chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. Jaune smiled affectionately, before turning and following the others down the path.

...

Seven pairs of feet shuffled along the gravel on the long walk to the airship port, their expressions slightly somber.

"I liked it here. It was... peaceful." Blake shrugged with a sigh. Ren nodded to her.

"Yes, it was incredibly relaxing." He huffed, swiping a black lock out of his eyes. "However, I'm looking forward to the idea of my own bed again."

"Urgh, yeah, you and me both!" Nora whined, slouching forward with exhaustion as she walked beside him. "My neck is sooooooo sore!"

Jaune chuckled at Nora's comical whinging, before he looked at Pyrrha as they walked, her sparkly emerald eyes darting across the dirt in deep thought. He nudged her softly with his elbow, startling her back into reality.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, Jaune?" she asked. Jaune shook his head and his brows curled with worry, eyes studying her deeply.

"Are you okay, Pyrrha? You seem... I dunno, head in the clouds. Something on your mind?" He asked, slowing his walk with her to create a small distance of privacy from the talking others. She quirked her lips into a wry smile.

"You can read me like a book." she rolled her eyes, stroking her upper arm bashfully. Jaune chuckled and raked his fingers through his thatch of blonde.

"Well, vice versa. You're a bit more observant than me most of the time." Jaune offered. Pyrrha gave him a look, an incredulous look. Jaune paused and huffed. "Okay, so more than a bit, more than a bit." He chuckled, Pyrrha humming alongside him.

"I'm joking Jaune. You're very observant to me, to my feelings. You've been an amazing support to me for so long now." She smiled bashfully. Though she gasped silently and her eyes shot wide open when she looked down at her hand, his firmly clutched around it, thumb smoothing over her tendons. "Jaune?"

"Second chances, right?" He smiled softly to her, eyes filled with what she could only describe - and hope - as loving adoration. She smiled softly and walked a tiny path closer, closing the gap and nudging her shoulder to his, head resting on his shoulder.

In front of them, the others stopped at the fork in the road, turning their heads to the lagging two behind them. All of their eyes warmed and their smiles widened at the close pair pacing hand in hand.

"Hey you two." Blake smiled fondly. Weiss hefted her bag over her shoulder into a more comfortable position, smiling almost smugly to them.

"W-What?" Jaune chuckled at her, never once releasing Pyrrha's hand, contently supporting her head on his shoulder. Their faces flushed, yet they cared not what the others thought. Besides, they knew they were happy for them, of course they were. All those smiles weren't plastic.

"Nothing. Just always thought you two would be cute together. I guess I was right, as always." Weiss smirked. Jaune smiled to Weiss and bashfully looked down at the pale hand in his, giving it a fond squeeze.

"We're umm... We're getting there." Jaune offered, Pyrrha nodding and reluctantly parting from him, standing bashfully beside him. "W-Well, whatever 'there' is, heh."

"Y-Yes, umm... it's a case of taking careful, small steps." Pyrrha flushed, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Guys, you don't need to defend yourselves. We love you guys. Just... do what makes _you_ happy." Ruby smiled brightly. Jaune smiled at Ruby's warm blessing, then to Pyrrha, her eyes locking with his. Timidly she slipped her hand into his and he instantly squeezed it.

"Well... Pyrrha and I... we're trying... we're trying to make things work, and... " He chuckled weakly, cheeks bright red. "We've got a date planned for when we get back to Beacon." His voice cracked. The others all beamed brightly.

"Yay!" Nora bounced giddily. "I knew it Ren, I knew it!"

"That's wonderful guys." Weiss smiled fondly, Ren nodding beside her with a gleaming simper.

"About time." Blake smirked, Pyrrha blushing and smiling bashfully.

"Thanks guys." Jaune chuckled meekly, looking adoringly to Pyrrha as she smiled right back. They always knew they would have the blessing of their loving friends, and yet to hear it plain and simple, in warm words and smiles of flesh, calmed the rough tides of their fluttering stomachs.

...

It was hardly bustling, but the 'Patch Airship Port' was still busy enough, considering the small population that inhabited the land of Patch. It wasn't a massive terminal like Atlas', or Mistral's, but it had enough there to entertain those awaited their flights. Built upon a grass plateau overlooking the ocean via a sheer cliff, the late afternoon view was more than captivating enough to keep most busy in their wait. Alleys of food stalls littered the open Port, the wind wafting scents of savory and sweet dishes from various cultures.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news." Jaune huffed as he returned to the bench the friends were all sat upon, just at the edge of the Airship Port. Weiss looked up over her scroll at him, as the dwarfing shadow of a banking Bullhead eclipsed them all.

"That doesn't fill me with confidence." Weiss whined.

"What d'ya wanna hear first?" Jaune shrugged.

"Bad news I guess." Ruby bobbed her shoulders, nibbling on a cookie the size of a dinner plate.

"Bad news is our flight's been delayed for another hour." Jaune sighed. Pyrrha nodded beside him.

"Sorry." She huffed, playing her fingers over her wolf's tail of vermilion hair.

"Well, what's the good news?" Nora asked, slurping a mouthful of noodles out of her steaming cup, slapping the wheat strands against her forehead. "Ow."

Ren dabbed the sauce from her forehead with a napkin along with a sigh. Magenta eyes flit up to Jaune.

"Oh I don't have any good news." Jaune announced nonchalantly.

"Well then why did you say there was?" Weiss sat forward, scroll in her lap to let her incredulous gaze sink in. Pyrrha turned to him with a raised brow.

"Yes, Jaune, w-why did you say there was?"

"I didn't want there to just be bad news." Jaune shrugged. Pyrrha snorted at him, hiding her mirth behind her palm, shaking her head with complete adoration.

"You dunce." Weiss huffed, slouching back with a whine. "Urgh! This is why I never fly economy."

"But... If the ship's late, does it matter what seat you sit in?" Nora asked, tongue sticking out as she fumbled with her chopsticks. "Grrr Ren! Who thought it'd be a good idea to use sticks to pick up noodles?!"

Ren scoffed and tried not to smile at her struggle, handing her a fork from his bag instead.

"Thank you!" Nora discarded the sticks and used the metal utensil instead. Weiss frowned and crossed her arms, slumped in the seat as she looked up at the flight arrival board.

"So anyway. Flight's late. Get something to eat, I guess." Jaune huffed. "Nora, where'd you get those noodles from?"

Nora quickly hid her pot from him, eyes narrowing. "Nowhere."

"Nora, I'm not gonna steal your food." Jaune chuckled.

"Oh. The stall over there. Blake's getting fish I think." Nora shrugged, going back to eating. Jaune nodded and turned to Pyrrha.

"Hungry?"

"Starving." She huffed, stretching her arms up over her head with a yawn. Her back popped a few times as she stretched. Weiss stood up and strutted over with a clacking of heels.

"I could eat too."

"C'mon. My treat." Jaune waved them over.

"O-oh no. You bought the coffees the other night, this is _my_ treat." Pyrrha took her wallet out. Weiss simply walked behind, hugging her arms at a gust of harsh wind, cool to her skin, yet her smile was the warmest she'd worn in a while. Watching Pyrrha and Jaune playfully bickering over who was going to buy their snacks. Stroking her lopsided ponytail over her shoulder, raking her fingers through the frost white locks, she smiled brightly at the pair.

Though Weiss did roll her eyes after a while and watched them walk up to the counter, ordering three bowls of steaming noodles. As Pyrrha went to take out her Lien card, Jaune fumbling with his, the Schnee simply opened her scroll and scanned it over the Lien reader with a beep. They turned to her with wide eyes, both blushing at her raised brow.

"Thank you Weiss." They both mumbled bashfully. Weiss nodded firmly and took a seat at the counter, flicking her hair with an elegant swish. Pyrrha and Jaune both took seats as their bowls of steaming stir fried noodles slid to them.

"I'm just glad it didn't get declined this time." Weiss admitted with a wry smirk. Pyrrha chuckled and placed a hand on the Schnee's shoulder.

"Thank you Weiss."

"Yeah, thanksh Weissh!" Jaune's head leaned back from behind Pyrrha, cheeks filled with noodles. Weiss snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Jaune, eww!"

Pyrrha turned to see his hamster-like cheeks.

"Wha?" he muffled.

She scoffed and smiled, shaking her head all the while. Jaune gulped and twirled some more around his utensil, as Pyrrha sobered with a warm sigh. "Back to Beacon soon."

"Looking forward to my own bed, I must admit." Weiss exclaimed, leaning back to arch her spine and crack the tension out. "Tired of sleeping on the floor."

"Here's to that." Pyrrha squeezed the muscles in her back together. "Miss mine too."

"Same." Jaune yawned into the back of his hand. "Urgh, could do with a real good night's sleep."

"I think we all could." Weiss looked over her shoulder, over at the bench where Ruby sat alongside Nora and Ren, just as Blake returned to sit beside their leader. Her eyes lingered on Ruby with a somber sigh. Pyrrha watched her intently though.

"What's wrong, Weiss?"

"Hmm? Oh... well." Weiss huffed. "Keep a secret?"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jaune asked with worry in his tone. Pyrrha mirrored his face exactly. Weiss exhaled a heavy breath.

"Ruby hasn't exactly been sleeping well. I know none of us have, but... she's taken quite the weight onto her shoulders. She's struggling with what she had to do at Beacon... during the attack. It wasn't just Grimm she had to kill, it was... people. That's what she's dwelling on... constantly it seems." Weiss toyed with her food.

"Oh... Rubes." Jaune sighed, pinching his brow. "Why didn't she tell anyone?"

"She told me, only after I pretty much interrogated her." Weiss dropped her face into her hands. "When I came to Beacon, I didn't like Ruby, I was cold, I was a brat and I didn't like that lovable goofball I proudly call my team leader... and friend. Now? I couldn't imagine life without her. To know she's been suffering this long, with that weight on her shoulders, hiding it because she thinks we have enough problems to deal with, without hers added to it as well? It kills me."

"That's why she hasn't told anyone she's not been sleeping? Cos she thinks we have enough on our plates?" Jaune sagged his shoulders, shaking his head. "Oh, Ruby."

"Indeed. That poor girl." Pyrrha sighed, trying not to dwell on the people that died around her that night... due to her...

"We should... we should eat up. Get back to the others." Weiss cleared her throat into her fist. Pyrrha and Jaune shared a look, before nodding.

...

The flight back was uneventful. They all sat in silence, Nora sleeping in fitful bursts against Ren, Blake reading for the duration, Weiss simply napping with an audiobook playing in her earphones, and Pyrrha soothing Jaune with his upset stomach.

Ruby however sat staring out the window, thinking on family. Thinking on how not so long ago she was this high up on the outside of a ship, playing a part in the deaths of Neopolitan and Roman Torchwick. She gulped and wished they'd land sooner.

Eventually they did, and as they walked through the courtyards of Beacon, something felt amiss. Ruby was the first to comment on it. "You ever feel like we're the only ones who go to this school?"

"Yeah... where is everyone?" Jaune asked. "Hello?!"

"Probably getting dinner. It is late after all." Blake commented, hefting her bag onto her shoulder. "I can't wait to put this thing down."

"Oh me too. My shoulder hurts, for realsies!" Nora exclaimed loudly, throwing her head back dramatically. Ren rubbed his chin, eyes darting around the dwarfing colonnades, when his eyes befell on purple hair.

"Well, normality had to return sooner or later. Shame." Ren snapped, the others looking to him in confusion at his outburst. Their eyes followed the magenta path of his stare. Eyes hardened at the Ickford, until they widened in shock as he stepped into the light.

His left eye was swollen shut and angry purple, surrounded with shades of black and blue. His lip was also split and scabbed over, along with other bruises and matching cuts over his face. A cut on his head was so severe it had required stitches, evident in the zigzagging threads.

"What the hell happened to him?" Jaune asked Pyrrha as she gasped upon sight.

"Goodness. I have no idea!" Pyrrha exclaimed into her palm. Jaymes stormed up to them with an evident limp, before snarling and spitting a glob of spit at their feet.

"Bet you put her up to this huh? Beat me to a pulp when you're nowhere in sight? Perfect way to get away with it!" He snapped, storming up to Pyrrha and snarling venomously. "You. Are. Filth. And I will take greater pleasure now in watching your life burn."

"Back off." Jaune snapped, stepping in front of Pyrrha. "We dunno what you're talking about."

"Yeah, leave Pyrrha alone." Ruby hissed, standing beside Jaune. Jaymes scoffed, suddenly flaring his teeth and grabbing the front of Jaune's hoodie, walking him back through the protesting others to slam him against the wall, seething at the Arc.

"You know. You damn well know! She's your friend after all! Once I'm done tearing Pyrrha's world apart, I'm gonna turn my attention to all of you. This? This is fucking personal now you vermin!" He snarled, pushing Jaune away and stumbling the blonde into Pyrrha, who kept him upright. Ruby growled and clenched her fists, matched by Nora and Weiss' snarling lips behind. Blake and Ren simply frowned and attempted to calm their friends as Ickford limped away.

"THAT'S IT! I'm breakin his legs!" Nora yelled, lunging forward, only for Ren to grab her into a gentle hug to alleviate the anger and sooth her jagged flaying and fighting into tired whispers of protest.

"It won't help, Nora... calm down, okay? Shhh." Ren breathed, stroking her back to sooth the protective Valkyrie.

"What? Who? I don't understand!" Jaune yelled. "Keep walking... Asshole." He mumbled, surveying the stretched edges to his hoodie's neckline.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked softly, Jaune nodding and firming his lip, snarling at the distant teen. "This is getting out of control." Pyrrha blew out a breath. "I'm so sorry, Jaune."

"S'not your fault, I don't know what happened, cos we weren't even here! He's just looking for a reason to blame us... you." Jaune paced to blow off some steam.

"We should get to our rooms... discuss it once we're settled again." Blake offered to calm them. Jaune nodded angrily and grabbed his bag, briskly leading the way.

So they turned and decided to venture to their rooms, fatigued from their journey and Jaymes' encounter. All of their heads were in the clouds in thought as they rounded the halls, trying to decipher just what happened while they were away.

"None of this makes sense! Who? Who did that to him?" Nora asked out aloud. Ren shrugged to her, warm hand on her shoulder.

As they rounded the corner, all eyes widened and they froze at the sight of James Ironwood, arms crossed over his crisp white military coat, gun at his hip. He tilted his head, blackened locks tinged with streaks of flattering silver. A slight fuzz had accumulated over his square jaw, the General of the Atlesian military and Headmaster of Atlas' Academy. Dark blue eyes flit to the group of youngsters.

"Miss Schnee?" He turned as Weiss gently pushed between the others to the front.

"General? What're you doing here?"

"Checking up on the school's health... and arresting someone for assaulting a student. Don't worry, she won't be an issue at this school again." Ironwood turned to the office door as two Atlesian droids stepped out, holding the blue haired woman in handcuffs.

Eryka looked up and sighed, tired eyes flitting over the teens. She gave a heavy sigh, and staggered as the droids gave a shove to get her into the hall.

"Easy, I'm going. I'm going." She sighed. A third mechanical soldier walked out with a large cage in grip, the loud caws of a trapped Eagle echoing off the walls. Huge wings flapped and rattled the cage. "Hey! Dulcis, shhh, shhh, it's okay baby. We'll be together again, I promise." Eryka was close to crying by the crack in her thick voice.

"Eryka... W-What did you do?" Ruby asked as she gingerly approached. Eryka sniffed and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Let's just say... I learned some unsavory things about that... prick Ickford and his family. I snapped. Now I'm getting taken to Atlas."

"I'll get you out of this, I promise!" Weiss exclaimed. "Please, Ironwood, let her go!"

"Not a chance, Miss Schnee. I am on expressive orders and bound by the laws of the kingdoms. She assaulted a student, beat him into the ground. Even after his Aura gave out, she carried on. After that, it becomes more serious."

"I'm speaking to my Father about this!" Weiss took out her scroll. "There has to be something I can do!"

"Hey, honey...shh." Eryka soothed, Weiss blearily looking up at her warm gaze. "Don't worry bout me. I've been gettin into trouble all my life. Besides, like he said. I attacked a student in a moment of weakness. No excuses. Don't get into debts of favors. Not for me."

"Take her to the transport. I'll be along in a moment, after I've spoken to Glynda." Ironwood exclaimed to the droids. "And you. I expected better of you." He pointed to someone in the office, out of the hall's view. "I thought you were better disciplined than this. I am _not_ always going to be around to protect you, Winter!"

Weiss snapped her head up as Eryka gave one last weak smile.

"Look... look after Neptune for me. And please, don't tell him about this. Please don't let the way he looks up to me change!" She sobbed as the droids gripped her handcuffed hands and led the woman away. Weiss watched her go with a wobbly glassiness to her welkin eyes, before having to tear her gaze to her sister.

"Winter... this is one too many discrepancies. First you recklessly start a fight with Qrow, in the presence of students! Do you realize how dangerous that was? And now, you turn a blind eye to your best friend's assault on a pupil?" Ironwood sighed with disappointment. Winter looked down at her feet.

"I-It won't happen again, sir. I promise." She stood at attention sharply.

"I know it won't." Ironwood sighed, pinching his brow. "Give me your Specialists badge."

"What?" Winter's eyes widened, face going pale as she slouched out of her posture. "B-But sir, I-"

"Now, Winter. I am... suspending you, dismissing you, I don't know yet. All I know is your temper and behavior has gone too far this time. Your badge. Now." He held out his open palm. Winter's eyes brimmed for the first time ever to all of them - even Weiss.

She sniffed and took her wallet out of her back pocket, opening it and taking the silver symbol and tearing it out of the leather with a loud rip. She slapped the badge down into his hand, Ironwood closing his fist around it.

"I... I am sorry, Winter. But this? I have to discipline even my most loyal operatives if they step out of line. I'm sorry." He tucked it into his pocket and walked away as he followed his drones. Weiss watched him go and immediately ran to the doorway, standing before her broken older sister.

"W-Winter? What happened?"

Winter simply pushed past her sister and stormed down the hall in the opposite direction, sniffles sounding as she hugged herself.

Ruby looked at Jaune, watery eyed as she hugged her stomach. "E-Everything's falling apart again. I... I'm really missing m-my Uncle right about now."

...

Icy winds screamed over the blank white landscape, sparseness for miles upon miles, unable to see three inches in front of your face. Below freezing, skin numbing in seconds and going black with frostbite in hours, this was the harshest of landscapes... The _Atlesian Wildlands_.

An echoing caw broke through the whipping winds, when a small jet black bird fell out of the sky, wings and tail missing tufts of feathers, spiraling out of control. With one last screech, the bird crashed into the snow with a plume of icy froth, The silhouette of a man replacing the bird to tumble upwards from the impact, and crash back down in a large plume of churned snow.

A sword/scythe swirled through the air with a whistle, slamming down blade first into the white earth with a humming thud. Acting as an epitaph, the sword stood tall as the man slowed his tumbling to a still beside the blade. Face down and black hair whipping in the harsh weather's winds, his hands eventually stirred, crimson cloak billowing in the gusts. Said hands pushed down into the numbing ice with a crunch, pushing himself up with a harsh groan.

Stubbly pointed chin lifted covered in speckles of snow, red eyes blinking at the wilderness he found himself in. He slid his knee through the snow, soaking through his black trousers and numbing the cap of his knee to sheer pain. He grasped the hilt of his sword, pulling himself up to a kneel.

"Urgh... what're you doing out here, Qrow?" he gruffly rumbled to himself, pressing a snow soaked hand to his brow, numbing to a pain akin to thumbs in the eyes. He pushed himself up to stand, shakily, and pulled his sword from the snow, panting and lifting a freehand to shield the cold winds from his face. He stepped forward, shin deep in the snow, like wading through syrup.

"Oh this was a great idea... journey to the most remote, desolate, place on Remnant. All - argh - to find your stupid sister. Oh for... what're you up to Raven?" He mumbled to himself, teeth chattering uncontrollably.

He waded through deeper and deeper snow, unable to see through the roaring blizzard. He grew weak, numb by the minute, until finally the wall of fast moving flakes gave to misty white skies, broken into wisps by thin strips of blue. Huge spiky mountains adorned the horizon. Qrow collapsed to his knees, dropping his sword to sink into the deep snow, eyes lulling closed, then open again. As he began to drift into unconsciousness, his nose going blotchy red, a silhouette blocked the winter light from his face.

Weakly opening his eyes, they widened at the person stood over him.

"Well, how about that? What _are_ the chances? The Atlesian Wildlands, thousands upon thousands of acres of inhospitable, uninhabitable frozen land, and I find you... taking up just one square foot of it... Brother."

...

 **Author's Notes: So yeah, a chapter basically just getting the story back on track, reintroducing them to Beacon. And Qrow?! What're you doing Qrow?! Why are you looking for Raven?! That's just me setting up Act Two. In the meantime, we have some awesome fun for Beacon, because next chapter has a few parents visiting to check on their kids welfare. Uh oh, Shenanigans! Awkwardness! Yay! See you then! - Dave**


	10. Not Sound Of Mind - Part One

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Before we start, I just wanted to clarify something I was asked. When is this story set?**

 **Act One: Roughly two months after Vol 3 ending.**

 **Act Two: A year after Act One.**

 **Act Three: Their last year at Beacon - roughly a year and a half after Act Two.**

 **Act Four: Fifteen - Sixteen years after Act Three.**

 **So, anyways, this is it, this is the first half of the two part penultimate chapter for Act One! Enjoy. Everything you've read up to now, every opinion you have on a certain character has been leading to this: The truth.**

* * *

 **...**

His eyes widened, laced with sheer horror at the sight before him, the cheering for the fight dulling to whimpers and gasps. His stomach lurched with a sickly sense, to the cables wrapping taut around arms, legs and waist. Preempting the gory scene, gearing his mind up to accept the sheer pour of wine from severed limbs, he held the spasming stomach's push, it's contents filling his closed mouth.

However it passed when blood and flesh did not fall, but instead veins of wiring and muscles of pistons clanged to the floor. It happened quicker than the polarity wielding killer saw it, cables suddenly coiling the copper haired girl, and slicing her instantly into tumbling segments. Silence reigned for a moment, a longer moment than time deemed realistic. A blink seemed to last a minute, a thick swallow as slow as sliding syrup. His hazel eyes snapped to the last woman standing, her emerald eyes shrunken to shocked orbs at the sight.

But were they shocked? Was that Pyrrha Nikos as innocent as the world painted her with their brushes? Maybe, she just... snapped? She was losing for the first time, taking hits against Penny - a girl who finally truly tested the Invincible girl. So... how would a star athlete - known for her unbroken stride, her mark up of zero losses - react and cope with having her _first_ loss? How would her sponsors react? The Invincible girl would be no more, that title would crumble and perish. She had so much riding on every fight... how else to secure her victory?

 _She's a killer..._

 _She murdered Penny..._

 _She cut her to ribbons!_

 _Pyrrha Nikos is a murderer!_

Jaymes' eye twitched, his mind arguing over the sight before him, to the cut up girl on the floor. Pinocchio had been tangled in her own strings, cut to pieces, and real girl or not, she was ended by the metal manipulator... Pyrrha Nikos.

Then the gasps turned to screams, as a Nevermore landed upon the shield above, shrieking to break in and kill all who draw breath...

...

His hands were shaking, his throat dry for but a moment before the capsule slid down, followed by a gulp of icy water. Jaymes wiped his lips on his sleeve, knees bobbing as he set the plastic bottle down on the desk, fishing his scroll out his pocket to furiously tap in a message.

The echoing patter of heels barely fazed him, his mind quieting as Goodwitch opened the door to her office, shutting it firmly behind her.

"I take it you've packed your things?" She spoke sharply, Jaymes finishing up the message and hitting send. He looked up as the Professor sat heavily in her seat, removing her glasses to clean the lenses on her cloak. "I've spoken to your previous Academy, you'll be returning back there as soon as possible. Your behavior has been despicable! Picking on Miss Nikos, after all she's been through?! How very dare you?!" Glynda snapped.

"Because she's a murderer." Jaymes scoffed nonchalantly, like it was fact. "Am I the only one who sees it? The intent in her eyes?!" He growled. Glynda snarled her lip, before taking a calming breath.

"Then you proceed to assault Miss Schnee with vile language." She huffed. "I will not have that in my school. Furthermor-"

"Err, what about her literally just punching me? Or that Jaune kid? O-Or Cardin for dumping his food on me?! They're not getting punished?" Jaymes scoffed, a disgusted look creasing his face. "You're all out to get me."

"Mr Ickford, I assure you tha-"

Jaymes' scroll buzzed loudly, interrupting Goodwitch mid sentence, chewing her tongue to hold back the inevitable vulgar language she wanted to unleash on a student. Jaymes pulled out his scroll, setting it on the table as it drummed the tune into the oak. He slid it over with his fingertips, nodding to the 'accept' button.

Goodwitch frowned, knitting her brow. She pressed accept, instantly assaulted with a loud yet gruff voice. "Jaymes?! What is the meaning of this, what does your message mean?"

"I am Professor Goodwitch. Who are you?" she asked, crossing her arms on the table. There was a pregnant pause from the scroll.

"I am Mauve Ickford, Jaymes' Father. I hear you wish to expel my son?" His voice snarled. Goodwitch's eyes flit up to Jaymes as he studied his hands. "Answer me!"

"Yes, I do. He has been a major issue at this school since he got here. He started to spread horrible accusations about one of our star students - over a horrific accident at the Vytal Tournament."

"Ah yes. Pyrrha Nikos... " He snarled the words. "There are two types of truth, Professor. Strong opinions pushed as fact in the vain hope that they will one day be taken as the truth. And... well, the truth... "

"Are you calling me a liar, or your son a truthful boy?" Glynda scoffed.

"I won't deny my son is a handful, and a delusional moron... " his Father grumbled, Jaymes gulping with a thick swallow. "But An Ickford _will_ remain at Beacon." His Father snapped. Glynda raised a brow at the scroll.

"Excuse me?"

"I said Jaymes will remain at Beacon." The man spoke slowly.

"No, he will not." Glynda scoffed. "I've already expelled him."

"No, you've suspended him for a week. That'll teach my boy a lesson, and he'll resume his studies afterwards." Mauve said with an evident shrug in his words.

"Who do you think you are, giving a Headmistress orders?" Goodwitch growled. Mauve let loose a loud guffaw.

"Oh I'm a detective. I'm the detective who uncovered the Faunus slaves in the Schnee Dust Company. And, I think you'd be wise to reconsider your current course." Mauve threatened - yes, threatened. Goodwitch's pine eyes widening at the scroll, locking with her incredulous reflection.

"I'm sorry?" She hissed. "Did you just threaten me?"

"No... I promised you." Mauve said in a sickly innocent voice. "It'd be a shame if, say, the Council - and let's be honest, they're not Ozpin's biggest fans - learnt that Ozpin let a very credible threat grow under his nose, how he was advised to prepare the school for an imminent attack - from the General of Atlas' military no doubt. - and to send _forces_ to Mountain Glenn, not a few teenage girls!" Mauve growled, Glynda gasping into her palm. "And believe you me, you're no angel on the devil's shoulder."

"H-How on Remnant can you know all that?" Glynda whispered, blinking to the scroll.

"We live in troubled times. Ozpin believed the school was somehow impervious to it all. I suppose even a King has to topple eventually." Mauve said disinterestedly. "It's funny really, the information that got leaked to a few sources after that virus incursion. A chess piece. Seems rather fitting." Mauve scoffed. "Like I said, I'm a detective. I'm a patient, gambling man, close with members of the Kingdom's council. Jaymes stays, and he becomes a fully qualified Huntsmen. Or the world learns of dear old Ozpin's atrocious running of a school. With such weak legs for this school to stand on, do you think it would take much for the school boards to close it for good?"

"No." Goodwitch growled. "I will not let you shut down my school." She lowered her head to her hands. "I-It's my home. This school is all I have."

"So, we're in agreement?" Mauve was unfazed by the emotion in her voice. Goodwitch sighed, looking to the Cane lent in the corner of the room, ivory in color, a reminder of the coma ridden headmaster. Ozpin.

"Yes." Glynda hoarsely replied. "Now end the call." She snarled, before hanging up with a firm click. The silence was palpable, as Jaymes pulled his scroll to his hands.

"I'm sorry, Professor." He sighed, tucking it away, gulping at the disgusted stare in her eyes.

"I'll have you know... Ozpin has experience all of us lack... It's high time people learnt that." She snapped. "Now get out of my office."

"So... I'll be back in a week?" Jaymes asked with the makings a smirk.

"Leave... this... office." Glynda hissed. Jaymes nodded, turning and leaving the office, for Glynda to drop her head into her hands, and sob from frustration and stress.

 **...**

 **Act One: Chapter Ten: Not Sound Of Mind - Part One**

 **...**

Deft fingers gently tuned the glowing strings of the violin, clearing her throat into her fist, before cradling the hollow instrument to her cheek. Then, her soothing voice left her lips - albeit with a soft inflection of nervousness...

 _Dream of anything;_

 _I'll make it all come true_

 _Everything you need_

 _Is all I'll have for you_

 _I'm forever_

 _Always by your side_

 _Whenever you need a friend_

 _I'm never far behind_

 _._

 _If the stars all fall_

 _When there's no more light_

 _And the moon should crumble_

 _It will be alright_

As her fingers eased the translucent blue bow from her violin's strings, the brunette Faunus cleared her throat and winced to her small audience. "So... what'd you think?" Velvet asked with a fidget, blushing red as she watched the three faces looking at her. "It's bad, isn't it? Oh, I knew it! Gods, I need to get this done by the dance, but I just can't-"

"You been hiding talent from your team, Velv?" Coco smirked, index finger lightly tugging her sunglasses down her nose, dark brown eyes flowing with pride. Velvet's eyes widened and she shuffled on the concrete step of the courtyard's statue.

"W-Well, I... I wanted to write something for the dance... maybe do a duet with Weiss if she was interested. You think it's good?" Velvet's bunny ears drooped lightly.

"Don't sell yourself short, Velvet. You've got an amazing voice." Yatsuhashi smiled, sat on the grass beside Fox. The red and brown themed boy simply smiled up at Velvet, conveying more than words could.

"Oh... w-well, thanks guys." Velvet chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. The bright blue holographic bow and violin soon dissolved into the air, as Velvet closed her box beside her with a firm click. "I just need to work on the lyr-"

"Hey, you guys seen Blake at all?" Sun interrupted, walking around the base of the statue. Coco sat back in the grass, supported on her elbows as the rising sun lathered warmth over her skin.

"No. Didn't know they were back." The Fashionista shrugged.

"Got back last night apparently." Sun shrugged, hopping up the concrete steps to vault into a back flip, tail hooking over the cast iron Horse's leg of the statue. Contently hanging upside down, he let out a heavy sigh, swinging to and fro. "Neptune can't find Weiss either. Guess we're just worried about our friends is all."

"Yeah. I'm sorry Sun. We've not seen any of them to be honest. But we'll be sure to let you know the moment we do." Velvet nodded, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Thanks guys." Sun huffed, pulling out his scroll. "Good singing Velv. You got a good set of lungs on ya." Sun grinned over his scroll.

"Oh! W-Well thank you." Velvet nervously chuckled. "We should get to class. See you later, Sun!"

"Yeah... you too." Sun gave a quick wave, still intently focused on his scroll.

 _Message to Blakey:_

 _Hey, Blake? Where u at? I haven't seen u. Are u okay?_

With a tired sigh he hit send and stuffed the scroll in his pocket, only for gravity to pull it out and drop it on the floor below. "Nuts."

...

Blake's scroll thrummed in her coat pocket, startling her from her stupor. She pulled it from the cotton pocket, thumbing the button to reveal the message. Her eyes scanned the scroll left to right, before a heavy sigh left her lips. Zigzagging her teeth over her bottom lip, she vaulted to her feet, shucking her coat.

"Blake? What's got you in a rush?" Weiss asked from the bathroom doorway, hands busy above her head, tying her off centered ponytail up. Blake huffed, amber eyes settling on Weiss.

"Sun messaged me. I need to talk to him."

"See if he's okay?" Weiss offered.

"See if he knows anything about last night." Blake said over the top.

Weiss froze, eyes wide at her Faunus friend. "Wow. That's... well, cold." she shrugged. Blake sighed and slumped her shoulders, looking at her scroll. "You think more of him than just that. Than some... informant."

"I don't know what to think right now." Blake snapped, shoving the scroll in her pocket. "I've got a lot on my mind, and I don't need feelings getting added to that!"

"O-Oh no, I am _not_ putting up with this again." Weiss snapped, standing in front of the door, the taller Faunus pausing to growl.

"Move Weiss!"

"Make me!" Weiss frowned, crossing her arms tightly. "I'm worried about you, Blake! Like how you got so obsessed over the White Fang that you just stopped sleeping, or eating! I won't have a repeat of that, I won't! You getting so obsessed over something, that you... stop caring about yourself and the others around you!" Weiss softened her hard gaze, her firm pose loosening.

"Weiss, I'm not going to... I-It's not like that, okay?" Blake huffed.

"Isn't it? What's stopping it from being like that?" Weiss asked with a gulp. "Our team is hanging on a thread right now. Ruby's... Ruby's falling apart, and I... " Weiss sniffed, welkin eyes growing hot and stinging, wobbling like ripples in a lake. "... If you're not there to help me, then I don't know what to do!" Fists flung down by her lithe hips, lip trembling as she spoke.

"Weiss... " Blake bit her lip, breathing out a heaving gust of pent up emotion. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"I just... I can't keep this up, if you're not there to help me." Weiss blinked. Blake placed a warming hand atop her shoulder, Weiss' eyes lifting to Blake's smile.

"I do this a lot, Weiss. I... I forget that people care about me. I'm not used to it still, but I should be... " Amber eyes stung as her breath grew shaky. "What Yang did for me during the attack proves it. So I know it's a... bad excuse, I know, but... " Blake huffed and Weiss stepped away from the Dorm's door. "... my wonderful little team, and the people around us, are all I've ever had." Blake sighed, opening the door, her eyes exploding wide on the two figures in the doorway.

"BLAKE!"

"My baby girl!"

Blake stared in awe and disbelief at both Mother and Father in the doorway. Her Mother; tanned skin, warm amber eyes, golden accents over black cloth, purple linings to clothing and eyelids. Her Father; massively dwarfing his wife, thick black hair and matching beard, dark purple suede coat and skeletal silver pouldron stretching up over his left shoulder. While imposing, his eyes held no wrath, only warmth and concern laced together. Momma Belladonna, and Dadda Belladonna. In Beacon.

Blake simply paled and slammed the door, pressing her back to it and heaving heavy breaths, eyes wide on incredulous Weiss.

"Okay... And them." Blake groaned, knuckles wrapping on the other side of the door.

"Blake? Oh come now!"

"Now I know you didn't just slam the door in your Mother's face."

"Uhhh... G-Give me _one_ second." Blake winced to Weiss, who grew smugger by the second.

"Oh, I can wait." Weiss smirked, sitting back against the bed's edge, waving her off. "Take all the time you need."

"I hate you." Blake lulled her head down, the knocking growing even faster. Gingerly she reopened the door, almost toppled by the hug her Mother assaulted her with.

"Blake! Oh my baby girl!" She stroked her daughter's hair, purring into her neck. Blake's hardened outer shell very quickly dissolved at the warmth of her Mother, and her Father's smile above. She took a deep inhale of her loving parent and wrapped her arms around her back.

"Hey Mom."

...

Emerald green eyes flit from the bag of broken Milo, to the Metalwork's shop before her: Adhara's Forge. With a heavy sigh, Pyrrha looped a lock behind her ear and stepped up to the small thatched building, opening the oak door with the chiming of a bell. She blew out a breath as the door shut behind her, her senses assaulted with smells, sights, sounds.

A sweet scent of wood shavings filled the air, mingling with the oily, almost tangy smell of heated metal. Loud clangs echoed off the walls in a rhythm that Pyrrha found her ears slowly accustoming to, her flinching blinks easing as she grew used to the constant sound. She paced up to the counter, running her palm over the oak top, till she reached the bell. With a flick, she set it into a single chime, stepping back to clutch the bag to her stomach, worrying her lip with her teeth.

The clanging stopped and she heard shuffling in the back of the shop, bouncing on her toes as she eyed the array of swords and armors on display in the shop window.

"Ah, sorry my dear, I'll be right with you!"

"It's okay, no rush!" Pyrrha smiled, eyes still lingering on the smooth metal plating on display. Then she saw the price tag and swallowed.

"Okay." the master craftsman panted, stepping over a fallen shield, swiping his forehead of sweaty beads, leaving a smudge of black across his tanned brow. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh! Well... " Pyrrha sharply remembered why she was there, and stepped up to the counter with a smile, setting the bag down with a sound akin to broken glass. She winced and so did he, scratching his thick black beard.

"W-Well... What's in here then?" He opened the bag, huge hand disappearing within to pull out a small red piece betwixt finger and thumb. "Is it a puzzle?"

"N-No, no... it _was_ my spear. But, as you can see... it's now a bag of shrapnel." Pyrrha rubbed the nape of her neck bashfully. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, youngen!" Adhara chuckled. "Though, may I ask what happened to it?"

"Umm... " Pyrrha blew out a breath. "At the Tournament... I... W-When it all happened, I-"

"Say no more, kiddo." He studied her intently with his chocolate brown eyes. "You're Pyrrha Nikos, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes." Pyrrha slouched. For a moment, she thought about lying, saying she wasn't, but it just wasn't in her nature. "But don't expect me to ask for any sort of discount, I fully inten-"

"Don't be silly. I saw what happened on the Television. Watched the final round. I'm... " He huffed and crossed his arms on the counter. "I'm so sorry. Wasn't your fault, kiddo."

"Thank you." Pyrrha swallowed thickly, so used to saying those words they started to lack all meaning. "So, umm... what do you think? Is it... salvageable?" Pyrrha asked with a cough into her fist.

"Mmm. Dunno about savable, but I _can_ work with this. Three big melted chunks, and a handful of shrapnel? I've worked with worse!" he laughed, Pyrrha smiling at his wonderfully gentle demeanor. "Leave it with me, Pyrrha. I'll get it sorted. Was it a simple spear, or?"

"Oh, It was a sword, a spear and a rifle. I understand if you can't get Milo back to that condition, but-"

"Mmm." He tapped his chin, eyeing the contents of the bag. "Well, that does complicate things. I won't be able to use all this, and get it back to that..." Adhara looked at her out of the corner of his eye, Pyrrha visibly slouching in disappointment. "I guess I'll have to build a new one." He smiled, Pyrrha's eyes widening in shock.

"B-But, sir, that's very generous, but it's more expensive to build a whole new weapon, than to repair one." Pyrrha raised her brows, fingers wringing bashfully.

"More often than not, it's cheaper to start again." He set the bag of metal down, sliding a piece of paper to Pyrrha. "If you've always wanted something handy in your spear, now's the time to add it." He chuckled at her wide eyes and dropped jaw. "Write down what you'd like."

"Sir... I understand Professor Goodwitch spoke about covering the costs, but that was for _repairing_ my weapon. A-And..." She shuffled. "My funds aren't high at the moment, after the tournament I lost some sponsors." She squinted at her feet. Adhara's heart ached for the young woman, a wash of undeserved guilt in her eyes, and the pale complexion of her marble skin flushing at another person's care.

"Well. Good thing I'm a generous old man, not looking to making a quick Lien... " he smiled as Pyrrha looked up. "You're not paying a penny. Neither is that school." He grinned as she gasped.

"N-No! I couldn't in good faith-"

" _Pyrrha_. I'm fifty three. If I wanted to rob kids of their hard earned Lien, you think I'd be living in this end of Vale? I make enough to live comfortably, and I'm happy with that. I forge weapons because I enjoy it. I enjoy seeing a child graduate to the age where they're allowed their first weapon. Watching their little ecstatic faces light up when I hand them their blade for the first time. You are a hero. You saved Vale from Grimm annihilation. Don't call it charity, call it... a thank you." Adhara smiled, mustache raising at the edges.

"I... " She sniffed and wiped a tear. "I'm sorry, I'm just..."

"Stop apologizing kiddo." He laughed. "So, new weapon. What have you always wanted in Milo here?" He gestured to the bag of metal. Pyrrha blew out a shaky breath and swiped her eyes, before gingerly gripping the paper. She took a quill from the inkwell and began to write down some details. Adhara leaned over the counter to see, smiling beneath his thick beard.

"I've only ever used a sword and spear, so I'd definitely keep Milo the same in that regard." She tapped her chin.

"But?"

"W-Well... "

"I've forged weapons with up to four alt modes, so don't limit yourself." Adhara chuckled, hopping up with a groan to sit on the counter. "Whatcha thinkin?"

"Well..." Pyrrha chuckled lightly. "The rifle is always helpful when in a bind... " Her eyes scanned nothing in particular, her vision shifting from reality to lingering thoughts. Sparkly emerald eyes flit left to right, her teeth fidgeting over her lip. She did have one thing that she'd thought of more than once, the many occasions where her mind befell to that girl in particular she failed, guilt pooling icily in her gut every night. Penny. Her emerald eyes widened and she swallowed thickly. "Sir?"

"Adhara." He chuckled.

"Right. Adhara. Is it possible to make it split into other components?" She asked with a gulp. Adhara nodded.

"Not impossible. Why?" his brows knitted.

"I had a friend. Her name was Penny. Penny Polendina." Pyrrha whispered, stroking her upper arm somberly.

"Ah." Adhara nodded, scratching his jawline. "Your opponent in the match?"

"Mmm hmm." Pyrrha nodded, her throat feeling very swollen all of a sudden, hard to swallow. "I would like to honor her, her weapons... with mine. So she lives on in me." Pyrrha smiled weakly. Adhara beamed fondly to her, picking hardened gems of resin from his leather apron.

"Doable. May take a bit longer, but-"

"I have no rush, sir." Pyrrha offered. "And I can find some funds to put towards it if it helps."

"Not a matter of money, just time." He chuckled as Pyrrha bit her lip. "Y-You struggle with receiving gifts, don't you?"

"I... I'm just struggling to see how I deserve it."

 _SLAM!_

She startled at the huge hand on the paper. His hard eyes softened instantly. "Of course you are. I wouldn't make this for you if I didn't think you did. You are humble, and selfless. Now. Carry on." He gestured to the paper. Pyrrha gulped and wrote down what she wanted to add to Milo 2.0. After a full ten minutes of debating in her mind, she showed him.

"So... A control box on the back of your armor, bout ye big?" He held his finger and thumb a few inches apart.

"Mmm. If possible." She scratched her heart shaped jaw. "I can use my polarity to manipulate them, but... it's taxing. Would be nice to have a back up to control them." she sighed. Adhara continued to think of how to achieve it.

"Head of the spear disconnects, cables shoot out and connect with the box on your back. I like it." he nodded, scratching his chin. "I could get Milo into... six blades?" He sandwiched his hands together and slowly peeled them apart to gesticulate how it would work. "Sound good?"

"Sounds grand." Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you. I really mean it. This... this means the world to me."

Adhara smiled at her, hopping off the counter and picking up the bag of broken Milo. His eyes locked with hers as he emptied it out onto the counter with a clatter. Pyrrha looked down at the parts, all melted and askew. The details had warped and bled into each other, filled with chips and cracks along the sharpened edge. If she was being honest, she didn't see how anyone could save it.

"Keep... or get rid?" He spoke. Pyrrha bit her lip and gingerly picked up a segment, a piece in which Cinder's heated grasp had crushed and melted it. She flipped it over in her palm, before shaking her head and setting it on the counter.

"Get rid. Start anew." Pyrrha smiled. He kicked a bin over to the counter's feet, and Pyrrha's hand glowed black, encasing all the fragments in black aura. They slowly slid across the counter, until they fell off the edge into the bin below.

Pyrrha felt a weight leave her shoulders, a shaky breath leaving her lips.

"Your spear'll be ready in two weeks, maybe one if I'm not too busy." Adhara smiled to her. "Milo 2.0, featuring Penny, right?"

"Right." Pyrrha's smile grew, her eyes hot and scratchy with fresh tears. "Thank you." She whispered, the true meaning of those words flooding back to her. Adhara sighed and walked around the counter, to which Pyrrha assaulted him with a hug.

"Y-You'll get dirty, kiddo!"

"I don't care." She breathed, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so so much."

"Don't mention it Pyrrha." He smiled, huge hand pressing into her back.

...

"Urgh, why can't I think of anything, Ren?" Jaune asked, head fuzzy with the rush of his blood, golden hair hanging away from his ears and brow to touch the floor below him. "And Nora, hanging upside down is _not_ helping me come up with anything... s'just giving me a headache." he groaned, wiggling his feet free of the top bunk, thumping to the floor below with a loud thud. "Owchie times a thousand."

"Jaune, c'mon, you're overthinking this." Ruby chuckled, leaping off of her bunk opposite with a light, soundless thump. "Pyrrha's gonna love whatever you come up with!"

"Indeed. She's just looking forward to some time alone with you." Ren offered his hand to the crumpled pile of Arc. Jaune blinked through the gap between his folded over legs, uncoiling his lanky form to roll out his spine.

"You think?" He raised a brow, accepting the calmest member of his team's hand.

"I know."

"Yeah, c'moooooon, Jaune! She's crazy about you!" Nora skipped across the RWBY dorm room, placing her hands atop the hard bumps of Jaune's collarbones, before shoving him to sit on Blake's bunk. "I think the one thing you've got to worry about is your get up, mister." she pointed at... well, all of him.

"My... get up?" Jaune looked down at his hoodie and jeans. "What's wrong with it?"

"Pffft!" Nora pursed her lips - hard - to keep her laugh within, Ruby also giggling behind firmed lips. Ren sighed, massaging his brow betwixt finger and thumb.

"Jaune. I need you to listen. Very carefully. To every word I utter." Ren said slowly.

"Gotcha." Jaune nodded.

"You're taking Pyrrha out to dinner, yes?" Ren offered, framing the air with his hands. Jaune nodded.

"Uh huh."

"Something classy, not that dirty burger joint in downtown Vale, am I right?" Nora cocked her eyebrow, accompanying the posture of her sassy hand atop hip.

"Hey! What's wrong with Jack's diner-"

"Jaune!" Ren snapped, slapping his hands into the mattress either side of Jaune's legs. Magenta eyes scant millimeters from Jaune's flared incredulously - angrily. "You surely cannot be suggesting taking Pyrrha out to dinner, to Jack's diner?!"

"Umm... no? No, not now that you've said it along with the way you're all staring at me, no." Jaune shrunk his head into his shoulders. "Conversely, I also told her it was a surprise, simply because I didn't know where to take her, and now I can scratch one less restaurant off of the list!

"Jack's is not a restaurant!" Ren argued.

"IT IS TO ME, DON'T TRY TO CHANGE ME REN!" Jaune yelled, slamming his face heavily into Blake's pillow. "Waaaaah!" His legs kicked to and fro. Ruby watched the whining teen with raised eyebrows, Nora's lowering at the all too familiar spectacle.

"He does this." She offered offhandedly. "Our team leader... having tantrums. It happens." Nora waved off the comment. Ruby snorted.

"I want this to go right, Ren." Jaune looked up out of the crumpled pillow. "Help me? Please?"

Ren sighed at the pathetic yet endearing sight. With a squeeze to his knitted brow, he sat down beside the Arc, fingertips pressed together with a calming breath.

"What do you and her have in common - taste wise?" Ren asked, opening his eyes. Jaune sniffed, sitting up to run his sleeve along the underside of his nose.

"Well, let's see. Pyrrha comes from Mistral, so I think she likes sushi. We talked about it a while back." Jaune shrugged. "I don't mind it, but it's... not a favorite. Oh! She likes dishes from Vacuo! so do I." Jaune nodded eagerly.

"I see. So, Pasta dishes? Bolognese? Carbonara? What about Calzone?" Ren asked, his eagerness for the culinary arts taking over. Jaune nodded followed by an offhand shrug.

"Yeah, my Mom used to cook a lot of Vacuo themed foods. So err... what place do you recommend?" Jaune asked with a fidget. Ren huffed. "C-C'mon dude, please! Help me out! Plee-eee-eeeaaase!" Jaune begged.

"Okay okay. Try... " Ren tapped his chin.

"What about Shoreline banquet?" Ruby shrugged, Ren looking at her with wide eyes. "Ya know Ren, the place by the sea, takes half an hour to get there if you take the shuttle." she shrugged. The others blinked at her. "What? I'm sophisticated." Ruby held her chin at an upward angle that would make a certain Schnee very proud, crossing her arms with a "Hmph."

"Half an hour shuttle... Vacuan food... What d'you think, guys?" Jaune bobbed his jittery knees, looking from Nora to Ren. Turquoise and magenta mingled for a moment, before Nora rolled her eyes and huffed, sitting heavily on the bed beside him, tugging at the frilly end of her short skirt.

"Jaune, Pyrrha's totally mad for you, for realsies!" Nora exclaimed animatedly. "She'd eat outta the gutter if it was with you... " she smiled warmly. "Take her to that shoreline place, take her to... Jack's diner, take her wherever they serve food! As long as she's making conversation with you, she won't care, I promise you that, pinky promise!" She held up her smallest finger.

"Don't really take her to Jack's though." Ren leaned to Jaune's other ear. It was almost like the angel on one shoulder, devil on the other. Problem with Ren and Nora, was that he was never truly sure who was which.

"Okay. Thanks guys." Jaune smiled, looping his arms around their necks into a hug. "C'mere Rubes."

"I'm good." Ruby chuckled, stepping back with surrendered hands. "I've gotta study. Hey, you seen Weiss at all? Neptune came by earlier trying to find her." Ruby huffed. Jaune deflated, along with Nora's sagging smile and Ren's sobering sigh.

"Yeah... Someone's gotta tell him about what happened with his sister. He still not know?" Jaune asked.

"I don't think so." Ruby shrugged, sighing heavily. "I think Weiss should, but... well, I don't think she's sure she can."

"Weiss? Keeping a secret? Didn't she go all self righteous when she found out Blake's secret? And I know she wasn't happy with what Neptune did at the dance, and why." Jaune shrugged. Ruby nodded, lilting her head to expose her neck, dipping her chin down to eye the floor.

"But... she liked Eryka. And she understands that Neptune looks up to his sister, and doesn't want to taint that relationship with-"

"The truth?" Nora raised a brow. Ruby paused her words, tongue failing her, lips falling shut.

"Like it or not, she attacked a student. If Weiss doesn't tell him, someone will. It's best he hear it from her." Ren nodded.

"Uh huh! Could you imagine finding out the person you really liked kept a huge secret like that from you?" Nora lowered her head with a heaving sigh. "Lies suck. Not you Ren, different lies." Nora waved, Ren scoffing a chuckle.

Ruby nodded to her friends, as her scroll thrummed. She quickly slipped it from her pocket, eyeing the message on her screen. "On a cheerier note..."

"What?" Jaune tilted his head. Ruby grinned.

"Blake sent me this: With Mom and Dad." She squealed.

...

"Oh this school is wonderful, isn't it wonderful Ghira?" Kali asked excitedly, looking around the campus with wide amber eyes.

"Yes. Wonderful." Ghira's eyes were firmly set on his leading daughter. "So... is it hot here?"

"Huh?" Blake raised an eyebrow. Ghira shrugged his huge shoulders.

"It's just... your outfit... it doesn't cover much."

Blake, mortified, tugged at her clothing, a red band blossoming over her cheeks. "It covers plenty!"

"Oh, so where is that team of yours you spoke of so fondly?" Kali stepped forward a hair quicker, hooking her arm around her daughter's, giving the limb a soft squeeze.

"Yes. In the _one and only_ letter you sent home." Ghira raised a brow. Blake swallowed. She looked up and her cat ears spiked at the incoming yells. "Who is that?" Ghira scoffed.

"Ooh yes, friends? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?" Kali raised a brow, Blake blushing harder.

"Mom!" she whined, tugging her arm free. Running over, Sun panted, hands atop his knees with labored breaths, stood beside an equally panting Velvet Scarletina.

"B-Blake! What gives, you've been ignoring my texts all day?!" Sun wheezed. "Who's this?"

"Oh your concern for my daughter is so sweet!" Kali beamed, hugging Blake's arm a little tighter, before stepping over to Sun, hand outstretched. "Kali. Kali Belladonna. And this is-"

"Ghira. Ghira Belladonna. Blake's Father." He frowned, eclipsing the sun and bathing both Sun and Velvet in shadows. Bunny ears drooped in fear.

"H-Hello sir! I'm Velvet." the bunny Faunus chuckled weakly.

"Blake's parents?" Sun scratched the back of his head, before his pupils shrunk to tiny dots. " _Blake's parents_."

"Oh aren't you sweet!" Kali greeted Velvet with a warm hug. "I want to thank you for being there for Blake during... well, all that nasty business." She waved her hand dismissively. Velvet smiled.

"Oh my pleasur-URE!" Her voice rasped, eye twitching at the huge hand crunching hers.

"Ghira, be gentle!" Kali scolded her husband.

"I'm sorry my dear. I do thank you for your support of my daughter. It's nice to see so many Faunus students at Beacon." he smiled to her.

"Uhh, yep! There's a bunch of us! Aaand, we're treated _really_ well!" Velvet laughed weakly, throwing a fist across her torso animatedly. Even though CRDL had stopped bullying and grown on everyone massively, those memories linger. Sun walked up to Blake, hands pushing at the air.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... whoa... whoa." He stopped, arms dropping heavily to his sides, sunlight painting a stripe of gold down his tanned cheek. "Parents?!"

"My name's Kali. That's Ghira." Kali added from behind Blake, peering around her shoulder. "Hello!" She sung, wiggling her fingers with her wave. Sun gave an incredulous wave back.

"Eh heh. Can I talk to you for a sec?" He grabbed Blake's hand, leading her out of earshot. Velvet watched them go, looking back up to dwarfing Ghira and beaming Kali.

"I'm... I'm just gonna go. Nice to meet you both!" Velvet smiled, before quickly scurrying away. Meanwhile, Sun pushed Blake against the concrete statue out of her parents eyes.

"PARENTS?!" Sun yelled, eye twitching.

"Relax, Sun. I didn't know they were coming either. Why're you so worked up anyway?" Blake crossed her arms. Sun shrugged.

"M'not. Not at all." He laughed weakly. "I just don't want them to get the wrong idea about us."

"Us?" Blake raised a brow.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kali asked on tippy toes, bobbing eagerly as she stared at the statue, Ghira having to stare at their shadows for any movement he declared to be... indecent.

"Hopefully about how my daughter is _off limits_." He snapped, Kali huffing and slapping his arm.

"You said you were going to try."

"I am. I'm trying. _Really_ hard." he mumbled in retaliation as Kali rolled her eyes.

"You said you weren't going to embarrass her, you did, yes you did, on the flight over, I remember, you said 'Kali, I won't embarrass her', yet you're getting ready to - yes you are, I know you, you are."

"What do you mean, Blake? I mean have I not made it clear how I feel about you?" Sun raised a brow, swallowing thickly. Blake stroked her arm, looking downward.

"I... I'm not ready for that right now, Sun. I can't think about that sort of stuff right now." Blake firmly lifted her chin, though her amber eyes betrayed her. Sun gulped, nodding as he eyed his feet.

"So... Tell me - just tell me Blake. Am I wasting my time?" Sun pleaded, a look in his eyes that she'd never truly seen before. Vulnerability. She sighed and bit her lip, Sun huffing and slapping a hand to his thigh, for her silence was her answer. "Your err... your parents are waiting." Sun smiled weakly, before turning and walking away, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Sun." Blake closed her outstretched hand into a fist, dropping it to her side. "Wait... I'm... I'm sorry."

"Knock knock." Kali tapped on the bronze plaque of the statue, wincing as Blake yelped. "Sorry, but... well, we wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I-I'm fine. Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends." Blake sighed, leading the way with an eye closure that swallowed back her welling emotions.

...

The afternoon wore on, and eventually the circular Amphitheater stirred with students ready for combat class, Professor Port sauntering with a highly held chin into the center of the arena, two curls of silver lifting over his lips at the students taking their seats.

Jaune sat down, slinging his sheathed sword under his feet, besides Nora and Ren. Nora hummed as she set her six grenade canisters onto the desk one by one, happily bobbing in her chair as she swiveled them so the hearts atop aligned. Ren smiled to her as he too set both Stormflower pistols onto the wooden counter. Jaune drummed his fingertips into the desktop, when Pyrrha sat beside him suddenly, startling him. "H-Hey!" Jaune beamed.

"Hi." She smiled, leaning her shield against her seat, flicking her fringe aside to kindle her conversation. "So, I went to the Blacksmiths in Vale today."

"Oh yeah? How'd it go?" Jaune leaned his cheek into his propped palm, smiling oh so fondly. Pyrrha bit her lip, shrugging.

"Well, I've got-"

She turned to the loud sound of her shield cartwheeling down the steps, towards Port. Jaymes happened to be walking by at the time, baring his teeth at her. "Oops." He snarled, Pyrrha frowning in turn. Port simply lifted his foot and stopped the shield with it. With a sigh, the tired Professor looked up at Jaymes.

"Mister Ickford, do not do that again."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me young man, now sit!" Port roared, startling all in the room into silence. Jaymes simply bit back a frown, sitting in his chair. Pyrrha sighed and held out her hand, encased in a black aura. The shield gently levitated up across the room and into her palm, seating it between her leg and Jaune's. While Jaune spat vile glares at Jaymes, his fist paling against his thigh, Pyrrha simply studied him, tried to understand him.

Since returning to Beacon from Yang's, something was definitely off with him. He seemed to have developed this distinct theory that Pyrrha was vindictively out to get him. What started as simply wanting her punished for Penny's death, evolved into vindictive attacks, aggressive bullying to her and her friends, and even threats to ruin her life. He seemed totally obsessed with the idea, even managing to find a way to blame Pyrrha for what happened with Eryka. His usual smug grin or smirk was devoid, now frowning and twitching, eyes scanning left and right, jumping at the lightest drop of a pen. She watched as he gripped the desk, his tanned skin paling.

"Miss Nikos?" Port's deep baritone voice carried over the hall - and her daydreaming. Jaune elbowed her gently, startling the emerald eyed warrior further. "Are we listening?"

"I-I'm sorry Professor, I was... I have no excuse." She blushed, shrinking her head between her shoulders. Looking out the corner of her eye at Jaymes became a tick, something she just couldn't stop doing! She had to see his reaction to her being told off. Nothing. Nothing but a deep exhale and a jittery snap of his head left and then right.

"Well, now that we're all seated - and paying attention... " Port scolded, Pyrrha wincing. "... Today's combat class will be hosted by myself. Miss Schnee is... let's say, unable to teach at the moment, and Professor Goodwitch is neck deep in paperwork. So! Today, I want to see what you've learnt in my studies of the Grimm. Moves best to deter or beat them. For example... Nora Valkyrie, quickest way to dispatch a Beowolf!" he snapped his pointed finger up to the copper haired teen. Nora's back spiked, scratching the back of her head.

"Umm... Oh I know this one! Get behind it to avoid the claws, and rip it's head off!" She stood up, fists clenched and that crazed look in her eye. Port chuckled heartily.

"Yes, near enough, my dear. But, I would also like _you_ to show _me_ what you've learned in Professor Goodwitch's class. So... How about we start off this class, with a duel?"

...

Weiss hummed to herself as she sat on one of the many benches in Beacon's dulling Courtyard, bathing in the dying glow of the sun, and the sweet aroma of freshly cut grass. She looked up at the afternoon sky waning to evening. A blush of orange dusted the clouds, except for the massive continents of black looming on the horizon, thunder rumbling distantly.

"Hey, umm... Weiss?"

The Schnee snapped her head up from her studies to see Neptune, rubbing the back of his head. Weiss - concern in her eyes - gulped thickly and shut her book.

"Hello, Neptune." She spoke softly, patting the spot beside her. A breathy chuckle left his lips, before nodding and sitting beside her. The taller male lowered his head, wrists resting atop his knees. The sun glinted off of his golden goggles, Weiss squinting and shielding her eyes. Lifting his gaze, blue brows knitted together with a bemused chuckle.

"You okay?"

"You're umm... blinding me."

"Huh? Oh!" He scrambled to pull his goggles off, settling them into his lap. "Sorry" He bashfully shrugged. Weiss blinked the black squiggly lines out of her vision, before looking to him softly. A long deflating sigh left his lips, running a hand down his chiseled features. "I don't understand, Weiss."

"What is it?" She shuffled over, bare leg brushing padded jeans. "You can tell me."

"Where'd Eryka go?" He asked with a choke, Weiss paling further. "I don't get it, why'd she leave without saying goodbye?"

"Oh. I umm... Well... " Weiss chewed her lip, warring with herself over what to do. "Neptune, there's... there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" He asked, turning his face to her, vivid blue meeting alluring welkin. Weiss bit her lips, before opening them.

...

"Now, I've noticed we haven't quite got full teams here today." Port examined the room. "Hmm. All of JNPR, All of CRDL, CFVY... Jaymes, where's your team?"

"They're studying." He said, rather short and quickly, flatly. Pyrrha furrowed her brow at him in confusion.

"And RWBY?"

"They're studying today Professor. Catching up on stuff we missed. I'm writing notes for them though." Jaune called, clearing his throat into his fist. Port rubbed his chin.

"Hmm, well fair enough. These classes are optional for the time being, though we do prefer you attend them." Port sighed, crossing his arms and looking up at the teens. "I know... it can be hard to pick up a weapon again, after what you all had to do during that fateful night."

The teens swallowed thickly, looking down at something to distract lingering thoughts, whether that be studying the grain of the wood, the thread count in their sleeves, anything but thinking of that night.

"I want you to know that the faculty are so incredibly proud of you all. _I_ am so very proud to say my students saved lives that night." Port's silvery mustache twitched into an unseen smile, squinted eyes tightening. "In fact, give yourselves a round of applause, all of you." he began to clap, the students all looking to each other bashfully, before one by one they began to clap, small smiles gracing their faces. "Now... if some of you do not feel up to sparring today, I have no problem with you staying and taking notes, or leaving to study for other classes. We recognize that combat classes will be one of those classes that takes a while to properly ingrain into our system again." Port explained.

Jaune looked around as one or two students packed up their bags and left, some just taking out pads of parchment to scribble onto, never casting their weapon a glance. He sighed heavily, flicking his pencil to roll up the incline in the desk, before letting it slowly rumbled back down to his fingertip. This was to be expected. The first class they had back, only RWBY, JNPR, SSSN and CRDL had attended. It was a hard thing to ask, asking children who saw bloodshed - at their own hands - to raise a weapon and fight once more, to watch aura dissipate with each blow, now knowing how real the effects were of lacking that protective shield.

"So... are you my class for today?" Port asked the room, nobody moving, just staring back. "Okay. We'll start light. A gentle demonstration of sword and shield. Miss Nikos! Would you be so kind as to come down here?" Port asked, Pyrrha's eyes widening minutely.

"You don't have to..." Jaune whispered, Pyrrha hushing him with an unseen squeeze of his hand, a caring caress of thumb over tendons.

"Of course Professor. I umm... I don't have my spear yet though." She winced at the top of the steps. Port chuckled lightly.

"Not an issue, my child. Your shield is all we need." He gestured with a flick of his fingers for her to descend. With a gulp, Pyrrha nodded, picking up the discus item and slinging it on her back. She stepped down the stairs, slowly, heels rhythmically clacking. She walked past Cardin, receiving a gentle pat on the shoulder and a comforting wink from the ex-bully. She actually smiled back, admiring his genuineness.

Jaune sighed, leaning back in his seat, eyes tilting to Jaymes as the boy's lip flickered up above his gritted teeth, eyes flaring at Pyrrha, the remnant of his injuries from Eryka beginning to fade. Jaune - for the life of him - could not figure out what had happened, what Eryka discovered that drew that sort of reaction out of such a relaxed person. What did Jaymes do? And why did he seem so jittery today?

...

"Neptune, I-"

"Hey! A-Are you Weiss? Weiss Schnee?" cried a young girl, lithe with pink hair that framed her face. She stepped up to the bench the pair occupied, another girl running up behind her, bright blue eyes and chocolaty brown hair.

"I am. Why?" Weiss asked, slightly peeved she had been interrupted during such an important moment. The two girls panted, gulping heavily.

"My name's Peony. This is Sapphire. We need your help." She asked - pleaded - a look of frothing fear in her eyes. Weiss cocked a brow.

"Why? Furthermore, your names don't help me much... I do recognize you though." Weiss sat forward, tapping her chin. Peony looked to Sapphire, both conversing silently through their eyes, before with bated breath, they spoke.

"We're on Jaymes' team."

Weiss' eyes flared. "Leave us alone." Weiss shooed them, turning back to Neptune, as the boy furrowed his blue brows over what was happening.

"Weiss, please, it's really important! I wouldn't ask if it wasn't!" Peony begged. Weiss scoffed, loudly, obscenely.

"Why would I help you, or that rat you call a leader? He attacked my friend the moment we got back to Beacon yesterday! And he's been out to get Pyrrha since the school reopened!"

"That's what we need help with!" Peony yelled, rummaging in her cream coat's pockets. "Where is the - aha, here!" She pulled out a long rectangular plastic package, a tinfoil lid stretched over the top. The plastic was recessed to house what appeared to be medication capsules. Only two holes had been punctured in the tinfoil, only two of the circular pills missing.

"What's that?" Neptune asked, tilting his head.

"Yes, and why does that concern any of that I just said?" Weiss crossed her arms, frowning. Peony threw her head back and scoffed to the sky.

"Urgh, will you shut up and listen?!" Peony snapped, Weiss recoiling her head, but lifting her stoic chin none the less.

"Continue."

"Jaymes... h-he's not well, okay?"

"We gathered that much." Weiss snarled. Peony frowned.

"Thanks. No, that's really nice, really being the better person there, huh?" Peony scoffed. Weiss blushed and looked down, icy guilt in her gut. "Jaymes has an illness... m-mental illness, okay?"

...

"Now, Miss Nikos, if you would kindly demonstrate to the class how best to block an incoming blade?" Port asked as he stepped around her - studying her - as she spread feet shoulders width apart, one further forward than the other. She braced the back of her cold shield with her palm and gauntlet. "Very good!"

"Professor, perhaps it would help if we had someone strike the shield to... _show_ a demonstration." Pyrrha smiled up to Jaune - almost cheekily. Jaune sat up, picking up Crocea Mors, grinning ear to ear.

"Excellent idea, Miss Nikos! Let's see, who has a bladed weapon?" Port tapped his chin, Pyrrha literally pointing at Jaune.

"I do."

All eyes befell on Ickford, as he held aloft his folded up weapons. Port smiled.

"Excellent, wonderful to see such initiative! Come on down, my boy." Port chuckled, Pyrrha's face paling and her eyes widening as the purple haired teen stood, stepping out the row to the stairs, his hazel eyes fixed on Pyrrha. There was a difference in his walk. It wasn't his usual chin held high, untouchable walk he'd developed over his time at Beacon. It was slower, slightly flinching. Something was... scarily different in him as he stepped into the arena, pacing like a wild animal behind Port, who was none the wiser to the delusional look in his eyes.

Jaune and Ren paled with dread, Nora biting her nails, her free hand finding Ren's arm to squeeze.

"Okay! So, students... A simple demonstration of how to deflect a blow will do for now." Port hummed, stepping back as Jaymes flicked his wrists, a garble of cogs and plating forming out his sleeves, handles filling his sweaty palms. Two huge Axe heads clicked together either side of his face, a crackle of violet electricity buzzing around them.

Pyrrha gulped at the look in his eye - the quiet and scarily negative individual - as he snarled his lip.

...

"Slow down, what do you mean he has a mental illness?" Neptune asked, standing from the bench, Weiss following suit, wrapping her cardigan a little tighter at a harsh gust of wind, the storm nearing, a few licks of rain in the air. Peony huffed.

"What do you think she means?" Sapphire asked from behind her.

"Well there's a lot of em! Facts, details, c'mon!" Neptune asked, slapping his fist into his palm. Peony pinched her brow, mumbling under her breath. "Huh?"

"P-Paranoid Schizophrenia! He has Paranoid Schizophrenia, okay?" Peony blurted, hand over her brow. Neptune and Weiss' eyes widened, the Schnee gasping into her palm. "I only found out a few months ago... and to think we've known him since we started school together."

"Oh... oh crap." Neptune sighed, throwing his head back and pacing in a languid circle. Weiss stepped forward.

"H-He's... I..." She bit her lip, closing her eyes tight. "Besides the mental illness... what's the problem?"

Peony nodded and lifted the medicine in her hand. "He takes this to combat the symptoms... problem is, since the weekend started he's stopped taking it. I dunno why, maybe it was to do with this whole thing with Pyrrha, his... damn obsession over her and Penny. After what happened yesterday, I'm worried that-"

"Now that he's off the medication he might develop some real bad paranoia around Pyrrha!" Sapphire interrupted, Peony nodding. Weiss' eyes widened and she gasped.

"Oh no... When he saw us yesterday, he did not seem himself! H-He went straight on the attack, convinced Pyrrha..."

"Convinced Pyrrha got Eryka to do what she did." Peony huffed, rubbing her face tiredly.

"Wait, what?!" Neptune stepped back over. "What was that?"

Weiss gaped, Peony raising a brow.

"Y-You don't know?" She asked, Neptune shaking his head, eyes flaring at Weiss.

"Weiss? W-What happened?!"

...

Jaymes paced around Pyrrha. The Nikos simply gave a weak chuckle.

"S-So... just hit my shield, Jaymes." she forced herself to say, as light as she could. He was really starting to scare her, what with his intense stare and pacing. Though the room was silent as all watched the exchange on the combat floor, Jaymes' head was anything but...

 _She hates me..._

 _She tried to have me killed..._

 _They all hate me..._

 _She put her up to attacking me!_

 _Pyrrha Nikos wants me to die, she wanted Eryka to kill me!_

 _Kill her first, protect yourself!_

"Jaymes?" Pyrrha lowered her shield in worry. "Professor, wait, stop the class, I think Jaymes is having trouble breathing." Pyrrha stepped forward, at a pace Jaymes deemed too quick.

 _She's going to attack me!_

His labored breaths grew heavier and thicker, quicker and quicker, until they crescendo-ed with a strangled cry. He raised his right axe and brought it down on Pyrrha at a deathly pace. With a pop of widening eyes, she yelped and lifted her shield, the weapon skating off of the bronze surface with a spray of sparks, and deafening scream of metal on metal.

Pyrrha staggered back, caught off guard by the sudden attack. Port stepped forward to the teen.

"Steady, steady, what's wrong my boy?"

"Sh-She's been trying to kill me!" He staggered back, cowering behind Port. Pyrrha lowered her shield, an incredulous look in her eye.

"Me? I haven't done anything to you!"

"You had Eryka try and kill me!" Jaymes yelled. Port looked between the arguing students.

"Oh this is insane, this has gone on too long!" Pyrrha huffed, pinching her brow.

 _Insane? She thinks I'm insane?_

Pyrrha's demeanor suddenly shifted, a snarl on her lips and a violent flare to her eyes, as she drew a knife out of thin air, lunging at Jaymes with deathly intent. Jaymes yelled and swung his axe, the blunt edge hitting Port and knocking the older teacher aside, skidding on his back across the combat floor.

"Professor!" Pyrrha yelled, as Jaymes swung at thin air, at hallucinations, very near her head. Her training came into play instantly, ducking and weaving. "Stop Jaymes, you've hurt the Professor!"

Jaune got up out of his seat, worry in his eyes, along with the other students. He picked up Crocea Mors and stepped out into the row, running down the steps. "I'm coming Pyrrha!"

 _Her friends! They want me dead too! That Jaune Arc wants me dead, they all do! He's said it before, said he'd kill me! He's coming to attack me!_

Jaymes, panicked and outnumbered, held his axe out towards the running Arc, the axe transforming downwards into a shifting mass of metal, forming a gauntlet around his hand, long cables jutting out to overhang his fingertips. His extended fingers crackled with electricity, before he fired a bolt of purple lightning straight at the Arc, hitting him square in the chest, sending him flying back up the steps to collide with the back wall, squashing stone into a crater. Jaune slumped to the ground with an unconscious thud, smoke and steam hissing off of his chest plate, his body convulsing with the aftershocks of such a voltage.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed in dread.

"You're all conspiring against me!" Jaymes yelled as Pyrrha tried to run around him to Jaune's aid. Seeing her quick movements spiked his paranoia, firing a bolt of electricity at Pyrrha. She quickly lifted her shield, absorbing the blast, but not before knocking her off of her feet, the high voltage easily buzzing through the metal of her shield to her skin, lighting her nerves into heavy spasms. "You killed Penny, now you want to kill me! It all makes sense!"

"You're crazy!" Cardin yelled, picking up his mace.

"NO I'M NOT!" Jaymes screamed, his other axe forming into an electro-gauntlet, firing two bolts of raw energy at him.

...

"Weiss... what hap-"

Both of them looked to the source of the bright purple flash they swore came from within the windows across the courtyard. The combat hall. They heard yells coming from within, then another longer flash of purple. Peony's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no. Weiss, I know he's a pain in the ass, okay? I know he sticks his nose in places he shouldn't, I know he's not the easiest guy to like cos of his strong opinions, but if he's not been using these suppressants like he should be, coupled with the experiences he's had in the meantime... he's gonna be a massive danger to everyone around him... Pyrrha... Ren, Nora-

"Jaune!" Weiss gasped, covering her mouth. "Those two have had a rivalry since the school reopened!"

"We _need_ to get into the combat hall!" Sapphire cried, just as the tall glass window occupying the wall of the building exploded into massive tumbling shards. The glass shattered outwards, a projectile being shot through it. Said object landed in the grass with a deafening hollow thump. The body tumbled to a stop, his Mace clattering across the concrete steps, limbs twitching abuzz with electricity.

People ran in fear, screams echoing across the campus. With so much worry and fear in the air, the nearby Grimm of the Forever Falls and the Emerald Forest licked at the air, tasting the scent of dread and moving towards the source with insatiable hunger.

...

Students stumbled over one another - desperate to get out of the combat hall in sheer panic, Jaymes staggering, the delusional voices warping his mind. He looked up at the screaming students...

 _Afraid of me..._

He looked to Nora, the Valkyrie flaring her teeth and firing a grenade in his direction - protective of her team. The pink shell impacted his chest with a massive plume of pink smoke, sending the teen cartwheeling through the air to crash into the opposite wall, dropping from the cracked stone to the floor with a thump. He groaned and blinked, sitting up and surveying the room. He saw the screaming students, the few who yelled sick profanities at him, at his actions, to the grenade launcher responsible for the pain in his chest. His ill mind was free from it's medicinal cell, now running rampant with delusional out of character assumptions...

 _Pyrrha tried to kill me..._

 _Nora shot at me..._

 _Jaune hates me..._

 _Ren distrusts me..._

His heart rate quickened at the rising Pyrrha, stumbling groggily to her feet, spasming at the dying voltage. Ren snarled, fingers pressed to Jaune's pulse. Nora growled and raised her grenade launcher. He had so many enemies at this school, no allies! He rose to his feet, looking at his electrically buzzing gauntlets.

 _They lied to me..._

 _They shot at me..._

 _They hate on me..._

 _They're using me..._

 _Afraid of me..._

 _They're dead to me..._

 _They lied to me! She attacked me, Nora shot at me! Jaune hates on me, they're dead to me! And now they're all my enemy!_

 _..._

Weiss bit her lip, worrying the plump skin with her teeth, when Neptune took out his scroll and pressed a button. Her bright eyes watched him as he put his goggles back on with a snap of elastic.

Then a loud boom echoed over the terrified screams, and a locker dropped from the thunderous clouds, crashing into the ground with a bang. Neptune jogged over, the door hissing and then blowing open, revealing his rifle within. He took it out and looked worriedly to Weiss.

With a firm nod, she bit back her concerns and did her duty, tapping her scroll and awaiting her locker. Though when it landed, the door hissing open, she found it empty. Myrtenaster was gone. Weiss gaped at the empty spot, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and tugging.

"Where's my weapon?!" She cried out.

How little did they know that meanwhile, across campus in the Dormitory wing, Weiss Schnee was strutting back to the RWBY Dorm room, heels clacking, signature white dress and coat on, Myrtenaster at her hip, an evil smirk on her lips, frost ponytail billowing over her shoulder, and pink and brown eyes narrowing on her revenge.

After all, she was never one to miss up a good opportunity...

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Man! It's all gone wrong! So Jaymes' plot twist illness was an idea I had when I was writing chapter three haha! In fact, I wrote the majority of this back then! I loved Electro in the Amazing Spiderman 2, what an incredible unique take to have the villain suffer from a serious illness such as Paranoid schizophrenia. Now, I know there are parts of the illness I've missed out or embellished, but I needed to for the sake of the story. I hope you all understand that this isn't an accurate portrayal of the illness.**

 **And now the part I need your help with: The Weiss dilemma. Does she tell Neptune or not? I had some interesting talks about this with good friends ZappyZappy and Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov, you guys rock! But all of you are important to me, and I want your opinions too. Should she tell Neptune about Eryka and possibly ruin their relationship, or keep her word to Eryka and keep her first secret? let me know what you think!**

 **Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought of this pivotal chapter! See you next time! Love ya - Dave**


	11. UPDATE: Passing on the Reins

Hello all you lovely folk. I'd like to thank you for all the support you've given to me and this story. I know I've been gone for... well, forever, but I simply don't have the free time to dedicate to this anymore.

That's why the story is being continued and rewritten by my more talented brother, also known as CosmicFiction! He'll be taking over the reins, but wants to keep it true to all I have done and all I wanted to do. We talk and swap ideas back and forth all the time, pretty much been co-writers since forever anyway.

Basically, I won't be writing it, but he will.

Thank you all so very much! I love you all and will no longer deprive you of Eclipse. My Bro will do a much better job of telling it than I ever could.

\- Dave


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